Tintinnabulation
by djewellz
Summary: Sequel to Phantasmagoria. Ichigo's got his memories back...but what happens next? It sure as heck won't be easy! RenjixIchigo HIATUS
1. Le Commencement

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach. I'm merely borrowing the characters for a while.  
**Rating: **M - for language, violence and some smut (YAOI, don't like, don't read, but don't bitch about it)  
**Note: **This is the sequel to Phantasmagoria, my other chaptered RenIchi fic. If you haven't read that one, I would suggest you read it first, though you probably wouldn't absolutely _have _to. Some things in this just might not make sense to you.

Oh geez, it's here!! Seriously, you guys know how I write. I could never hope to stay away for long!! So now I'm back with the sequel to ole' Phantasmagoria, and it's gonna be even better than the first one (hopefully, lol XD). This one will be more expansive and have more things going on; it'll be longer and there will be more pairings (mainly yaoi pairings, some het) with more drama than ever, but it's still all about Renji and Ichigo. Cause honestly...who can resist those two? Certainly not me. This is only the first chapter so it's not as dramatic and action-packed as others will be, but hey...I gotta start somewhere. Also, the updates on this one might not be as frequent as they were on Phantasmagoria, but I promise they won't take forever. It's just that I'm moving closer to finals and I've got several big projects that I need to have finished by the end of the semester so unfortunately, real life must take over occasionally.

Also, a big thanks to my wonderful beta, **KasakiKihoya**, for well, beta-ing this!! She's awesome!!

**

* * *

Tintinnabulation**

"Hear the tolling of the bells -  
Iron bells!  
What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!  
In the silence of the night,  
How we shiver with affright  
At the melancholy menace of their tone!  
For every sound that floats  
From the rust within their throats  
Is a groan."

"The Bells" – Edgar Allen Poe

* * *

**Tintinnabulation – the ringing or sound of bells**

Ichigo woke with a start, jerking slightly as he was released from his dream. He was breathing heavily, and his uncovered chest was glistening with sweat. All those images – of death, destruction, pain, loss – flashed through his mind. Forcibly pushing them back, he groaned lightly. For the past month or so, these strange nightmares had been haunting his dreams; they were visions of the Winter War, but in a way, strangely different. Similar in that the dreams were of people he knew, different in that he had no idea where they occurred, or what was going on in them. It certainly wasn't in Hueco Mundo, or even in Karakura Town or Soul Society. It was like starting to read a book at page two hundred without reading the first prior pages. It was all extraordinarily disorienting.

There was a low rumble at his side and he looked over just in time to see Renji – his lover of several months now – waking up. "Ichigo…" he murmured sleepily. "What 's matter? It's th' middle o' th' night." His voice was groggy with sleep, his words slurred even more than usual. He gave an amazingly large yawn before rolling over onto his side.

"Nothin'," Ichigo said quietly. "Just a…dream." He refused to tell Renji that they were nightmares; he didn't want to worry the red-head, or to trouble his lover with his own problems. Besides, they were just dreams. They were nothing more, and nothing less. They would pass with time.

Renji scowled at him. "It ain't nothin' if ya keep havin' th' same dreams for over a month. Ya should talk to someone 'bout it."

"Who?" Ichigo demanded. "Everyone'll think I'm a ravin' nutjob."

"Ya _are _a ravin' nutjob," Renji said teasingly.

"Gee, thanks," was Ichigo's sarcastic answer.

A low, almost rhythmic, chuckle met his ears. "Anytime," the red-head said, snaking an arm around Ichigo's waist and pulling their bodies closer together. "You are a nutjob…but you're my nutjob," he whispered sensually into Ichigo's ear, causing the latter shiver. He gently pressed his lips to the hollow space behind Ichigo's ear, a spot he knew would drive the younger man wild in a matter of moments.

"Literally, or figuratively?" Ichigo asked playfully, arching up into his lover's touch.

He got a snicker at that. "Both," Renji whispered against the delicate skin of Ichigo's throat. "A very _good _nutjob, too."

Ichigo flushed at the suggestive comment; even after having known the red-head for over five years now, he still was never quite prepared for those little quips. "You're a pretty good nutjob yourself," he murmured as Renji's lips began moving against his neck.

"Damn right I am," was the low, husky affirmation. After that, Renji pulled Ichigo up so that they were both on their sides before capturing the younger man's lips in a passionate kiss. Ichigo eagerly returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around Renji's waist to bring them flush together as the red-head's large hands moved as well – one made its way to the back of his neck, supporting his head, while the other traveled down to his lower back, pressing firmly into his spine.

This incredible feeling… A warmth that seemed to completely envelop him, and a loving urgency that just completely enraptured him…it was impossible to describe. Of course it was love. But it was so much more than just that; there were no earthly words that describe it adequately. To him, Renji was more than just a great – and he meant fucking _fantastic_ – fuck buddy, more than his lover, or even his partner. Renji was his life; he honestly didn't know what he'd do without the other. Nor did he particularly care to find out.

The red-head's tongue pressed at his lips, begging for entrance. Ichigo easily complied, letting his lover's tongue do absolutely sinful things to his mouth. He moaned into the kiss, his hands moving from the other's waist in favor of his face. His fingers roamed across the hard planes he found there, the sharp angles. Everything about Renji was angular, he thought. Sharp, aquiline… Handsome.

They broke away, panting. "I love ya, Ichi," Renji said quietly, his hands moving down the younger man's sides, fingers trembling with need. "So fuckin' much." His words sent shivers – of a good kind – down Ichigo's spine. "I need-"

"I know," Ichigo cut him off. He leaned down and kissed the hollow right above Renji's collarbone – when teased, that spot had the same effect on Renji that the hollow of Ichigo's ear had on him. "I love you too, Ren." He bit down on the spot where the bone stuck out, almost directly beneath the line of his jaw. Renji moaned in response. "But right now…I need…you, only you."

Renji growled with animal like resemblance, flipping him over and pinning him down beneath his long limbs. He leaned down, licking hot, wet trails over Ichigo's chest. "Renji…" Ichigo moaned breathlessly. "Oh, god!" he cried out as the red-head bit down on a pink nipple teasingly. To lessen the initial pain – or perhaps because he just wanted to – Renji slowly, tortuously ground his hips down against Ichigo.

The younger of the two inhaled sharply and tried to buck his hips up for more of that friction. That wonderful, completely and undeniably hot friction. But Renji had anticipated his actions, and was pinning his hips down with his strong hands. "F-fuck," Ichigo whimpered into his lover's hair. When Renji did it again, he almost mewled at the sensations. "Nnn…Renji!"

"Whadda ya want, Ichigo?" Renji asked, the words vibrating against Ichigo's chest. "Whadda ya want me to do?"

"God, anything!" Ichigo cried out, gripping the sheets beneath him as Renji brought their hips together once again.

He felt, rather than heard Renji groan in response, and pulling away. Ichigo whimpered at the loss of skin-on-skin contact; he normally wouldn't have ever admitted that he whimpered. But he and Renji had a certain policy – what went on in the bedroom (or shower, or on the kitchen table, or…well, what went on wherever and whenever they had sex) stayed in the bedroom. Renji let his hands find the tops of the elastic band of Ichigo's boxers, pausing just a short moment before tearing them off, fully exposing his lover. His hands began to draw small circles up towards Ichigo's groin teasingly, getting closer and closer to the prize each time before drawing away. Every time he would draw away, Ichigo would moan at the loss of such devilish touches. "Renji…" he moaned, begging – no, pleading – with the other to just touch him already.

"Yeah?" the red-head asked, smirking through his hitched breathing.

"Please…touch me already…" Ichigo commanded huskily. He looked up at the other with wide brown eyes, trying his best to look seductive. He didn't know if it worked, but Renji growled appreciatively and kissed him, almost bruisingly hard, so it couldn't have been too far off from its intended goal.

"Ya have no idea how fuckin' sexy ya are when ya say that, Ichi," Renji mumbled against the other's lips before he moved away and reached down to grasp Ichigo's erection firmly. Said strawberry gasped, and then moaned at the sudden sensation. He tried to move around under Renji's firm grip, but the red-head's other hand was clenching his hip to keep him from doing just that. His long, deft fingers twisted and smoothed, gripped and caressed the hot, engorged flesh until Ichigo was almost sobbing with his need for release.

"Ren…no more…or I'll…" he couldn't manage out the last few words, but Renji seemed to get the point, because he pulled away.

He reached over to grab the bottle of oil from the bedside table. He flicked up the cap and poured a generous amount on his fingers. "Ya ready?" he asked his partner. Ichigo nodded, and the red-head pushed one slicked finger into the younger's entrance. He gasped at the feeling; even after doing this as many times as they had, he could never quite get used to the feel of the probing digits inside him. But Renji always compensated for the alien feeling by taking his mind away from the awkward feeling – this time, it was by licking up and down his neck, grazing it with his teeth occasionally.

Another finger soon joined the first, and then another after that. The preparation didn't take nearly as long as it had used to, Ichigo thought wryly. They took turns being dominant and submissive, but he had to say, he generally let Renji be on top more. It was just easier, with the red-head still being several inches taller and at least fifteen pounds heavier than him. Plus there was that one particular – he gasped when Renji hit that exact spot with his fingers. His vision went completely white for a moment, leaving him gasping raggedly for air.

Renji pulled his fingers out, and then coated his erection with a bit more of the cool lubricant. Ichigo reached for him as he leaned over, pressing their faces together in a kiss that was more tongue than anything else. The red-head pulled the other into his lap and held his erection in place while Ichigo slowly lowered himself onto it. They both groaned at the initial sensation, so pleasurable and hot and completely fulfilling. Ichigo stopped when Renji was fully sheathed inside him, giving himself some time to get used to it.

He groaned and laid his head down on the other's shoulder, rolling his face so that it was pressed into the red-head's neck. "Oh, god…" he moaned out, panting. He could feel Renji almost shaking underneath him with the restraint it took the red-head to not just take him then and there. Despite his need, Renji was always a very generous lover, always thoughtful, even if he had trouble expressing it. He stroked Ichigo's back with gentle, feather-like caresses as he waited for his younger lover to start wiggling around – a signal that he was ready to continue.

Surprisingly though, this time, Ichigo moved himself up so that he was on his knees, Renji's hips in between them. He lifted himself off the red-head's cock as far as he dared and then slammed himself back down, making both of them groan. "God, Ichigo…" Renji ground out, putting a hand on one of his lover's hips to steady him. Of all the different positions they'd tried, he had to say, this one was his favorite. Seeing Ichigo literally impale himself on his erection time after time was mind-bogglingly arousing. And the emotions that crossed his face…there were no words to describe it.

Ichigo lifted himself up again, and this time, Renji met him halfway, their bodies smacking together with a strangely satisfying sound. They easily set a rhythm, moving to meet each again and again as the pleasure grew in their bodies, reaching out in tendrils to seep all the way down to their toes. Breathing heavily, Renji now altered the angle of his thrusts, driving them to go in deeper, farther. This time, when Ichigo's hips met his groin, the younger man screamed out his pleasure, gripping at Renji's shoulders so hard that his nails began to gouge into the red-head's skin.

"Fuck…do that again, Renji!" Ichigo said breathlessly. Renji did just that, Ichigo letting out a heady moan as his head flew back along with the arching of his back. They were both close now; they could both feel it, coiling inside them like a snake waiting to strike. Reaching up with his free hand, Renji yanked Ichigo's head forward again, bringing their mouths together in a heated kiss before slipping his hand between them to grab Ichigo's own dripping erection, pumping it now in time with his thrusts.

Ichigo whimpered at the dual sensations now assaulting his mind. He broke away from the kiss involuntarily, letting his face push against Renji's cheek. "God…Renji! I'm…oh, god…RENJI!" He gave one final scream of pleasure before he finally let go, his entire world fading to white as his mind erupted in an explosion of pleasure. Renji followed him soon after, clamping his mouth down hard on Ichigo's collarbone to muffle his own loud, guttural yell of ecstasy. They both fell down onto the sheets then, Ichigo underneath Renji. They clung to each other as their heads slowly regained thought processes and their breathing returned to normal.

"That…that was…" Ichigo panted, not quite able to finish his sentence.

"Yeah…know whatcha mean," Renji agreed, still able to get the gist of the statement. He rolled off Ichigo then, pulling himself out of the other. Ichigo winced at the loss of contact, while Renji bent down to retrieve the sheets from where they'd pooled at the foot of the bed. The red-head quickly made his way back up to Ichigo, slipping his arms around the thinner frame and then pulling the sheets on top of them.

Ichigo turned over so that his face was pushed up against Renji's chest. While they weren't real big on expressing their relationship in public, Ichigo secretly loved cuddling. He just…liked being held. He'd been embarrassed as hell when he'd first admitted it to his lover, but Renji hadn't questioned the want at all – he'd just acted. "Thanks…Ren," Ichigo said tiredly, knowing that the red-head would know what he meant.

Renji chuckled, his own mind becoming fuzzy with sleep. "Anytime," he mumbled, pressing a kiss to Ichigo's temple. "Just go to sleep now."

"'Kay," Ichigo said, grinning slightly as his eyes slipped shut. Renji had done what he could not: he'd made him so tired that it was impossible for the nightmares to come back. He really owed Renji; it was a debt that he could never repay, not in a million years. But that was okay; the red-head wasn't really counting.

* * *

"Ichigo, you're not concentrating!" Rukia yelled at him for what seemed like the thousandth time that afternoon. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "How the hell am I supposed to teach you _anything _if you aren't going to concentrate?!"

"God, I know!" he yelled back at her, running a hand through his hair. "You yellin' at me ain't helpin' any!"

"Well, sometimes I think yelling is the only way to get through to you!" she snapped back angrily. "You only have two months left to master this, Ichigo! If not, they'll make you go to the Academy!"

"You don't know that," he said sullenly.

She snorted. "You'd be surprised at what I know," she said dangerously. He groaned, having forgotten how she was connected with not one, but _three _Captains in the Gotei 13. Sometimes he cursed Rukia's unique position; it was nice, occasionally, to have a friend on the inside. But most of the time…it was just a pain in the ass. "Now, try again."

He sighed and raised his hands up to the typical position for a kido spell. He recited the incantation perfectly, without missing a single word, and then let it fly towards the targets across the field from him. It was powerful – even more powerful than it was supposed to be because of his immense reiatsu – but its aim was horribly crooked. It didn't hit any of the targets; instead, it flew past them and fizzled out of their field of vision. With a strangled yell, he angrily kicked at a rock nearby.

"Don't say anything!" he yelled before Rukia could reprimand him. "I know that that's not good enough!" He flopped down onto the ground, hitting it angrily with his hand until his knuckles began to ache with protest. He growled in frustration. "Why the hell isn't this working?!" he demanded from the sky, clouds floating overhead. "I've been at this for four fuckin' months now! I should be able to get this!" He snapped his gaze down to glare at Rukia. "And don't you dare start on me!"

Rukia felt a lump develop in her throat as a pang of sympathy built up for her friend. But she couldn't say anything about it; Ichigo didn't want pity, he didn't like it. Treating him with pity was only a surefire way to get him really riled up. So she cleared her throat and walked over, offering him a hand up. He sighed and took the hand he had accepted. "I don't know what to do, Rukia," he admitted. "I'm just…stuck." Once standing, he dusted off the backside of his hakama. His brows, which were just as bright as his orange hair, were pulled down in a scowl.

"It's just a phase," she said comfortingly. "Why don't we stop here for today? It's obvious that you're not in a mood to go on." He rolled his eyes, but didn't give a smart retort like he normally would have. They started to walk back towards the main, inhabited part of the Seireitei, going at a leisurely pace. "You've already come a long way."

"Whatever," he said scornfully. "You can cut the crap, Rukia. We both know that I'm not good enough yet." She couldn't accurately contradict him there, so she just said nothing. "I'm trying my hardest, putting everything I have into this…and I'm still at only a basic level. Fuck, an Academy kid could probably whoop my ass in a kido contest!"

"Everyone has to start somewhere, Ichigo," she reminded him. "None of us were very good at it when we first started out."

"That's the biggest cop-out of an answer you could probably give me," he informed her. She sighed. "God, sorry…I'm not meanin' to take it out on you. It's just…"

"I understand," she said.

"No, you don't," he said, shaking his head. "That's why it's so hard to see everyone disappointed in me. No one gets how hard this is on me! I don't even understand why it's so fuckin' hard myself! Fighting is so easy, and so was shunpo! Why should kido be any different?!"

"Kido is a completely different style of fighting than what you're used to," Rukia reminded him sharply. "You're used to blunt attacks, Ichigo. You're reckless, but you're a master swordsman. With the type of bankai you have, shunpo would be simple to you. Kido requires something entirely different of your body."

"Saying that doesn't make it any easier," he said quietly.

"I know," she murmured. "I know."

* * *

Rukia quietly slipped into the Captain's office of the fifth division, sliding the door shut behind her. Renji looked up from his paperwork, setting his pen down when he saw who it was, and the expression on her face. "Was it bad?" he asked, grimacing.

She sighed and walked over to his desk, sitting down into the chair across from him. "Not…bad, exactly," she said. He didn't give an answer, instead merely waiting for her to give a full assessment. "He's just…not improving." She made a vexed noise. "I don't know what to do, Renji!" she vented. "He knows all the incantations by heart; he can make the spells work! They just never go where they're supposed to!"

"What d'ya think's wrong with him?" the red-head asked quietly.

"I couldn't say," she said, shaking her head. "It's not for lack of want, that's for damn sure. He wants this so badly, Renji. Every time he comes to practice, I can practically _feel_ the need to prove himself, the desire to succeed, radiating off him. And it's not really even a lack of focus. I just don't know what to do." She put a hand up to her temple, rubbing at the skin of her head as an imminent headache made its first snags at her mind.

"Maybe I should talk to him," Renji suggested quietly. "God knows I wasn't too great at kido when I first tried."

Rukia snorted. "Are you kidding me?" she asked, unable to stop the giggle that came out of her mouth. "You blew up one of the practice yards! I wish I'd been there to see it first-hand, but even Momo's retelling of it was hilarious!"

Renji let her have her laughs. It had been good for both Rukia and Momo when they'd found each other after the war. Momo had desperately needed a friend after what Aizen had done to her; and thanks to Rukia, she'd managed to find an almost sister-like figure, a solid, unchanging force in her life. That combined with her recent marriage to Hitsugaya, and Momo was turning back into a semi-normal human being again.

Rukia sighed, finally letting her laughter come to a slow halt. "Maybe that would help him, as long as you tell him that story," she said, smiling. "Anyone would feel better about their abilities after hearing that the great Captain Abarai completely botched his first attempts at kido!"

"Oh, shut up," he growled at her, though there was no malice in the words. As embarrassed as he was to think about it, he'd been developing a growing number of fans among the Seireitei. For some reason, people seemed to think that he was some kind of hero – both for helping save the Soul Society from Aizen, and then again for helping save Ichigo just a few months back. It was rather annoying really. He wasn't a hero; he never had been. He just did what he knew he needed to do, no matter what the consequences were.

* * *

Ichigo let himself flop down on the bed with a groan. Renji wasn't home yet, but he would be there soon. It was only about seven at night. He was so tired. As a part of this fucking training program, he apparently had to spar with members of each squad – namely their Captains. Save the first, he sparred with all the Captains on a regular basis, apparently to get used to their fighting styles lest he ever need to work with them on an assignment. Today he'd been with Kenpachi. Normally, Kenpachi Zaraki wasn't a bad guy; but in a fight, he was a complete and utter asshole.

He heard the front door open and Renji step inside. "Ichigo?" the red-head called out tentatively. "Are you here?" Ichigo just gave an audible grunt in response, drawing a chuckle from his lover. "Tired much, Ichi?" the red-head asked as he walked into the bedroom.

Ichigo turned his head so that he could look up at the other with tired eyes. "Kenpachi," he muttered as a way of explanation. Renji gave him a sympathetic grimace and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Feel like shit."

Renji could read the emotions in the other's reiatsu – it was heavy, brooding…he knew without asking that Ichigo wasn't just tired. He was still thinking about his session with Rukia earlier that day. He put out a comforting hand on the other's back. There were no words to say at the moment; anything he could've said to comfort the other would just be thrown back in his face. He began to move his hand down the other's back, pulling at the top of his robes to expose the taut muscles. Shifting so that he could use both hands, he began to massage Ichigo's back, letting his long, skilled fingers ease the tension he felt in those muscles.

Ichigo moaned in contentment. Renji's hands could do wonders – he should've become a masseuse instead of a Soul Reaper. He'd make millions that way. But then again, Ichigo didn't really want anyone else to experience this level of comfort, of bliss. It was for him and him alone. He felt the knots and kinks in his back fade away in just minutes. But he had to stop his lover or he'd get carried away – and he was too tired for that. With a reluctant sigh, he sat up, pushing the other's hands away. "Thanks," he said quietly, shifting closer so he could give the other a kiss against his angular jaw.

Renji just grinned in response. "Since when did I ever need an excuse to touch ya?" he asked mischievously, making Ichigo flush and punch him teasingly in the arm. He laughed at the embarrassed look on his younger lover's face; there it was, that blush that was so endearing! It was just so…Ichigo. "So, ya want something to eat?"

Ichigo nodded, and they stood up, making their way into the kitchen. Ichigo got himself something to drink while Renji worked on fixing dinner. Surprisingly, he was the better cook of the two; even Ichigo would admit that – however grudgingly the admission might be. He sat down at the table and watched his lover do the cooking. It only took about a half an hour, which they easily spent talking about what was going on in the Soul Society. When the food was done, they easily got down two plates and sat down.

"So," Renji began conversationally, "did I ever tell ya 'bout my first time tryin' a kido spell?"

* * *

The man grinned wolfishly as he kicked the man lying on the ground in front of him. He was bloody, and his white robes were torn. But the blood was old, dry and flaking off and his wounds had long healed. That didn't stop the man from kicking him violently before dragging him up. His vivid eyes searched the other's body for any kind of weapon – there was none. His grin getting even larger, he flicked his fingers, opening up a portal to the Soul Reaper world as he drew his reiatsu in on himself. He wasn't worried – he wasn't going to be there very long.

Hefting his prisoner in his arm, he dumped him savagely to the ground in front of the gate. As he stood up again, he looked down at the pathetic man beneath him. To be honest, he had no idea how the other had managed to stay alive for so long after the Winter War had ended. He snorted; little fucker had probably stayed in Las Noches, eating what little edible food was still available in the wreckage.

He turned around when he heard the first signals of alarm going up among the Soul Reapers. With a violent grin on his fact, he reentered the rend in the spacial fabric, letting it close behind him easily. He wasn't looking to take down the Soul Society; he wasn't an idiot, despite some people's opinions of him. He knew that what he had planned would probably eventually get him killed in the end. That didn't matter to him. He just wanted revenge.

And by god, he was going to get it.

* * *

So yeah...that's the first chapter!! It'll get more interesting, I promise, lol, I just need some time to set up a few things first. Hopefully, it wasn't too horrible!!

Wanna leave a review??


	2. Le Premier Mouvement : Réveil

Well, here's chapter two!! I'm gonna try and stick to weekly updates on Wednesdays. That makes it easier for me, to give myself a deadline so that I know it won't take me forever. So I'll try and keep doing that. And today was such a good day!! So now I'm home, wearing my awesome Jack Skellington socks (made by Disney, but sold in Hot Topic...um, okay?) and soooo ready for Halloween!! I hope everyone else is gonna have a fun time, cause I know I am!!

Thanks again to my awesome beta, **Kasaki Kihoya**!!

Anyways, thanks again for all the reviews last chapter!! I was excited to hear people happy about this sequel!!

* * *

"I think we should tell them."

"I think you're nuts."

"For heaven's sake, Ikkaku, there's no reason not to tell them!" Yumichika said angrily, putting his hands on his hips. "Most of them suspect something already! They're not blind!"

"What the hell do you think they're gonna say?" Ikkaku demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the man in front of him. "What if they think we're – ya know – weird? Tch, plus there's the fact that we hid this from them for decades."

"They'll get over it," Yumichika said, rolling his eyes. "And they won't think we're weird! Everyone practically celebrated when Renji and Ichigo finally got together! That excuse is pathetic, and you know it."

Ikkaku did know it. But that didn't mean that he was going to admit it; he still had his pride. "Well, what if they think we're just jumpin' on the bandwagon?" he asked grudgingly. "I'm not gonna be seen as a flighty wanna-be."

"…Is that honestly what you're afraid of?" Yumichika asked quietly.

"I don't want anything to change," Ikkaku responded carefully, not really answering the question.

"Nothing is going to change!" Yumichika insisted, walking over and sitting down beside the other. He reached out and grabbed the bald man's fingers, intertwining them. Ikkaku stared down at their joined hands as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "They're our friends, Ikkaku, and they respect us. They don't make fun of Renji and Ichigo. They're not going to make fun of us. Besides…I think some of them already know."

"What?!" Ikkaku demanded sharply. Yumichika recoiled involuntarily at the angry expression on his face. "Who knows? Did you tell anyone?!"

"No, I didn't tell anyone," Yumichika said. "But they're not stupid, Ikkaku." He sighed. "Why do I feel like I'm repeating myself?"

There was silence for a moment. Ikkaku bit his lower lip and looked over at his partner out of the corner of his eye. He and Yumichika had been friends for…well, for forever. He couldn't remember a time when they hadn't been together. He was sure that that time had at one point existed…but it had been so long ago now that he couldn't remember it. It was obvious that they were meant to be together. And he too suspected that some of their friends already knew the exact nature of their relationship. But…

"Please, Ikkaku…I don't want to hide this from them anymore," Yumichika said quietly. "I don't like keeping secrets from our friends. They deserve to know."

Ikkaku sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "I know," he said.

"Then what is there to worry about?"

"Rejection," Ikkaku said gruffly. Yumichika opened his mouth to protest, but Ikkaku cut him off. "I know, I know, they won't reject us. They probably won't give a rat's ass. It's just that little 'what if'. Keeps buggin' the crap outta me."

"Then why don't we go ahead and get it over with?" Yumichika asked, smiling.

"Now?!" Ikkaku asked, his eyes widening.

"Why not?" Yumichika asked innocently. "The sooner we get it over with, the sooner it's off your chest and you can relax!" He bounded lithely up to his feet, dragging Ikkaku up with him. "Let's go! I think that Shuuhei and Kira were meeting for lunch today. We should be able to catch them-" He was abruptly cut off by the sound of the door sliding open. They both whirled around to find their Captain staring them down.

"Madarame, you're wanted in the Head Captain's office now," Zaraki informed him brusquely. Ikkaku frowned at him, but didn't move. "Didn't you hear me?" the tall menacing Captain asked. "I said now! They won't wait on you forever!"

"Yes, Captain," Ikkaku said faintly, walking out the door with a dazed expression on his face. As soon as he was outside the building, he used shunpo to flash off towards the first division headquarters, wondering what on earth was going on. Back at the eleventh, Yumichika looked over at their Captain, who was still standing in the room, looking out at the nearby training field absently.

"Captain?" Yumichika pressed gently. A lone eye flickered over to him, and then back to the outside – a signal that he had the other man's attention. "What's going on? Is…is Ikkaku in trouble?"

"Not really," the man responded.

"Not really…as in…kind of?"

"Not really as in I don't know any more than you do other than that he ain't gonna be punished."

* * *

"Wait – WHAT?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Shuuhei said frantically, glaring at the blonde man across from him. "Do you want everyone to hear?"

Kira immediately shut his mouth guiltily, his cheeks flushing a bit. "Sorry," he said. "It's just…that's rather, well unexpected. When did it happen?"

Shuuhei sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Well, there wasn't really a specific time," he said quietly. "We both knew that things weren't going well; the entire point of this…relationship…was to help us both back on our feet. After Aizen and the others left, you know." Kira couldn't help but shudder at the mention of his former Captain, though he hid it as best as he could. "But it wasn't helping. If anything, it was only making things more difficult." He reached out to grab his cup of tea and brought it to his mouth, taking a long drink before setting it down again. It was only after he'd swallowed it that he realized it was too hot to drink.

"Was…well, is she okay?" Kira asked.

"Rangiku?" Shuuhei questioned; the blonde man nodded. "You know Rangiku." He shrugged. "She's as best as can be expected. It wasn't…it wasn't as if we loved each other, anyways." His voice grew very soft as he made that admission. "I think that all along it's been more of a brother-sister thing than a romantic love; kind of like what Rukia and Renji have, you know? Guess it just took us a while to figure that out."

"So it was mutual?"

"Yeah, pretty much," the dark-haired man confirmed. "Plus she's still so wrapped up thinking about Gin, you know." His eyes widened when he saw the haunted look in Kira's eyes when he said that traitor's name. Shit! How could he have forgotten? Kira was still so sensitive to those memories. "Fuck, I'm sorry, Kira! I didn't mean-"

"It's alright," Kira said hastily, eager to change the subject. "Knowing Rangiku, she'll be fine. She has to handle things like this on her own; that's her way of doing things. Who knows? Maybe she'll throw herself into work to take her mind off things."

Shuuhei snorted. "Fat chance," he said scornfully. "The only thing that could get that woman to willingly do work is…well, fuck, I can't think of any incentive that would get Rangiku Matsumoto to do paperwork!"

"I can't either," Kira said, giving one of his tight-lipped attempts at a smile. He watched as Shuuhei brought his cup up to his mouth for another drink of tea. After his friend had set the cup down on the table again, he asked, "The question is, Shuuhei…are you alright?"

Dark eyes met teal ones for a few, tense seconds. Then the eye contact was broken when Shuuhei looked away pointedly, to the wall of the little restaurant they were in. "I'm fine, Kira," he said quietly.

Kira sighed lightly. He could tell that Shuuhei was lying; it wasn't that hard to tell, really. When you were best friends with someone, you could read their every emotion through the tiniest of movements, the barest subtleties of body language. But that was how Shuuhei Hisagi was; he would take on the burdens of the world, put everyone else's business before his own. It was only when he was pushed to the breaking point that he was reminded that he had his own burdens to look after as well. And sometimes he would refuse to help himself even then.

He wanted to help Shuuhei; he wanted to help his best friend, the man who had helped him get over his Captain's – no…he refused to call that man, that _bastard, _a Captain. He was nothing more than a traitor. The former Captain of division three had been abusive to Kira, nonchalant in the way he went about torturing the fragile-looking man's emotional state. In a way, he was even worse than Aizen. Some people argued that Ichimaru's apparent lack of a conscience was even worse than Aizen's blatant sadist views.

Shuuhei had helped him; he wanted to reach out and help his friend in return. But if that friend was unwilling to accept help, what could one do?

* * *

Rangiku was, at the moment, surprisingly quiet and somber. She was even in her office, staring at the ominous stacks of paperwork in front of her. She didn't really want to look at them; if she picked one up now, she wouldn't stop until she ran out. If it hadn't been for her current situation, she wouldn't have even been contemplating doing the work at all. She didn't even want alcohol at this point. She didn't want anything. She just wanted to be alone. And for Rangiku Matsumoto, that was saying something.

There was a light rap at her door. She looked up just in time to see her Captain walk inside, his head buried in some report. He read a few more lines on the clean, white paper and then looked up at her. He paused mid-step and blinked at her. "Matsumoto…are you…actually doing _work?" _he asked, absolutely flabbergasted.

Rangiku answered by pulling a sheet of paper off the stack to her right and beginning to read it. It was very boring, and dull; it was that very reason that she didn't do her paperwork. But it was a welcome relief from thinking about her ruined relationship with Shuuhei. She wasn't particularly sad to let go of a romantic relationship; she and Shuuhei weren't meant to be together, not like Renji and Ichigo, not like Ikkaku and Yumichika (please…as if she didn't know about that – _so_ obvious!) No, it was the fact that their friendship was in shambles now. Could it be fixed? Yes…but that would take a lot of time and effort.

Her Captain walked over to her desk, setting his report down on the surface. She looked up at him quizzically. "Are you sick, Matsumoto?" he asked in a surprised tone of voice. His eyes were wide with shock. He leaned down to stare into her face intently.

She pulled back with a soft smile. "I'm fine, Captain," she murmured. "Don't worry about me."

"But you're doing work!" Hitsugaya spluttered. "How can I not worry about you when you're doing _work?!_"

"I'm a lieutenant, Captain," she reminded him. "I'm supposed to do my work."

"That's never stopped you before," he said scathingly, frowning at her. She didn't respond to that little insult; she just continued reading the stupid report on a mission to some small, remote prefecture in Japan. She heard him sigh in frustration and pick his report back up, moving back over to the door. "Of all the times for you to decide to do work!" he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Wonderful, just wonderful!"

She looked up at that. Was something going on? Had she missed some important announcement? "What's going on now?" she asked.

"It's just that time of year, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya replied with another sigh.

"What time of year is that?"

"The time of year where there's almost no paperwork, all field assignments," the Captain pointed out icily. "You _would _pick that time of year to finally start doing something. Trying to get out of training new recruits-"

"Captain Hitsugaya!" a frenzied yell suddenly came from the hallway beyond the open door. A few moments later, a low-ranking member of the tenth division rushed to the door, out of breath. "You have to come quickly! Someone's been found outside the West Gate! They're – they're from Hueco Mundo, and they're unconscious, like someone just dumped them there!"

"What?!" Hitsugaya demanded harshly, his brows snapping down. "Who is it?"

A hand was placed on the young Soul Reaper's shoulder. A moment later, its owner – Ukitake – appeared, a grim expression on his face. Hitsugaya looked up at him with a slightly confused, slightly calculating expression on his face. "Ukitake," he said slowly, "who is it?"

"One of the three who betrayed the Soul Society," Ukitake said in an uncharacteristically somber voice. "Gin Ichimaru, former Captain of division three."

There was complete silence in the room. A pen fell slowly from Rangiku's slack hand, finally hitting the desk with an audible thud. The paper fell from her hands, unnoticed as both Captains turned to look to her. She stared back, a mix of shock, horror, elation and trepidation on her beautiful face. "Gin?" she breathed quietly.

"A traitor," Hitsugaya said harshly; his words stung her, like a slap in the face.

A traitor. Yes, that was what Gin was. She couldn't afford to think of him as that boy she'd known in Rukongai; the boy who had given her food when she'd been lying in the middle of the road, too weak to walk. The boy that she'd…no, that was not Gin. He had been corrupted by Aizen into a cruel and unfeeling human being. The Gin Ichimaru she'd known had died a long time ago.

* * *

Ichigo stared absently at Renji's pen as it worked its way across the paper of the report the red-headed Captain was writing. His lover's handwriting wasn't the best, but it wasn't horribly messy. It was more of a lazy scrawl. Every so often he'd had to stop writing and dip the tip of the pen into an ink well. Then his writing would continue. It was monotonous, but Ichigo found staring at it to be strangely fascinating. It really was amazing how many different characters there were in standard Japanese.

"Oi, stop starin' at my hand," Renji grunted out. "It's weird."

Ichigo looked up at the other, his features snapping down into their habitual scowl almost automatically. "Sorry," he said after a moment. He leaned back into the hard, wooden chair, crossing his arms over his chest and choosing a new subject to stare at: a bookcase shoved against a wall, its shelves rather bare. Renji wasn't much of a reader, apparently.

A few moments later, Renji put his pen down with a sigh. Ichigo looked over at him quizzically. "What 's matter, Ichigo?" the red-head asked. "It's not like you to just stare off into space."

"It's…nothing," Ichigo said, looking down.

"Bullshit," Renji said. "Now tell me what's the matter before I drag it outta ya."

"It was nothing," Ichigo repeated stubbornly. "Just a dream, that's all."

"A dream?"

"Yeah, you know, those little things that happen at night? Pink unicorns, rainbows and all that shit?"

"…what kinda fucked-up dream world is _that?_" Renji asked, grimacing. Ichigo opened his mouth, but he forestalled him with a shake of his head. "Never mind, I don't wanna know. But still, Ichigo, these dreams've been happenin' for what…four months now?"

"Ever since I got my memories back," Ichigo confirmed quietly.

"Well, maybe the two're related," Renji pointed out. "What're they dreams of anyway?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Different things," he responded quietly.

"What kind of things?" Renji asked, rolling his eyes. He felt like he was pulling teeth!

"…mainly things about the war," Ichigo said softly. Renji immediately felt guilty for pushing his lover to answer. People didn't have dreams about war: they had nightmares. "Only…it's not the Winter War. I mean, there are people in my dreams that were there, on both our side and Aizen's…but they're not in Hueco Mundo, or Karakura Town. They're somewhere else, and I don't know where it is. And they're not really fightin' each other, either."

"Go on," the red-head prompted when Ichigo fell silent.

"But the one I had last night was different," the young man continued. "There was this man. I _know _that I've seen him before, but I couldn't remember his name at all. I didn't see his face, his back was to me the whole time. But he had really weird hair."

Renji snorted. "You're one to talk 'bout weird hair," he said, grinning.

"My hair is perfectly natural," Ichigo snapped, glaring at the red-head momentarily. "It's not like yours is any more normal." His gaze softened. "But this guy's hair…it was…it was blue. And not like dark blue – it was pretty freakin' neon."

"Sounds like Grimmjow to me," Renji said uncomfortably. He'd never particularly cared for Grimmjow. The guy was a loose cannon, even more than Ichigo or himself. He was also particularly bloodthirsty, and if he had a conscience, he didn't choose to listen to it. Plus there was the fact that he'd almost killed Ichigo during their third fight in Hueco Mundo. His lover had managed to beat the Espada, but then he'd gone and saved his life – bad move, in Renji's opinion. Of course, even that bastard had a sense of honor, so he'd helped Ichigo out during his last fight with Aizen. But he'd sworn that he was only doing that because he had a debt to the Vizard. As soon as Aizen was dead, they were enemies again. He'd sworn, shouted at the retreating Soul Reapers as they returned to Seireitei, that someday he would kill Ichigo. It wasn't a settling thought for the Captain of the fifth division. Because he knew that that bastard was still alive.

Ichigo blinked. "Grimmjow?" he repeated. "Who's that?"

Renji paused midway through shuffling a stack of papers. "Ya don't remember?" he asked, surprised. "I thought ya regained all your memories."

"I did!" Ichigo protested. "But I don't remember anyone named Grimmjow. Who was he?"

"…this ain't good," Renji muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Ichigo…" the red-head said slowly, looking up at his lover. "What exactly happened in that dream?"

"Well, the guy – Grimmjow, I guess – was just kinda walkin' around," Ichigo answered hesitantly, still wary of the pensive expression on Renji's face. "And he was talkin' to himself…mutterin' something about Pantera."

"That would be his zanpaku-to," Renji answered.

"His zanpaku-to?" Ichigo asked, blinking. "What, was he a Soul Reaper or something?"

"No," the Captain said, shaking his head. "Not a Soul Reaper – an Arrancar." Ichigo's eyes widened in recognition; _that, _at least, was something he remembered correctly. "And not just an Arrancar…he was one of the Espada, number six."

"Number _six?!" _Ichigo demanded, unconsciously gripping the arms of the chair tightly. "How the hell wouldn't I remember someone like that?"

"I dunno," Renji said carefully. "He was your archenemy, after all."

"My archenemy?"

"Pretty much," Renji confirmed, nodding.

Ichigo groaned and brought a hand up to his face. "I thought we were past this part," he complained.

"Maybe it's a phase 'r somethin'," Renji said, trying to be helpful.

The other snorted. "I really don't-"

"Renji!" someone yelled from the other side of the closed office door. Both Ichigo and Renji looked up as the door was flung open and Rukia rushed inside, a panicked look on her face. "You've got to come, quickly! To the West Gate!"

"Rukia, what-"

"Ichimaru is lying out there on the ground, unconscious!" Rukia said in a remarkably controlled voice for someone in a panic.

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me! Let's go!"

Renji and Ichigo exchanged one final look before jumping after her. Neither of them knew what to make of this particular development; it certainly wasn't expected. But one thing was sure – it wasn't good.

* * *

"What do you mean, I'm supposed to take the Captain's qualification exam in a month?!" Ikkaku demanded, standing up so fast that his chair fell down behind him. He glared down at the Head Captain angrily. "I don't wanna be a fuckin' Captain!"

"Language, Madarame," the Head Captain said dangerously. He looked up at the simmering man with stern eyes. "And this is not about what you want. This is about the needs of the Soul Society. There is a vacancy in the seventh division for a Captain, and you are the only Soul Reaper available who can perform bankai."

"The hell I am!" Ikkaku screamed out furiously, slamming a fist onto the edge of Yamamoto's desk. "What about Ichigo?"

"Kurosaki is currently in training," was the calm, cold answer. "He is being prepared to take over the third division."

Ikkaku shook his head. "I refuse," he said stubbornly.

Yamamoto's gaze turned steely. "Then you may turn in your zanpaku-to," he said stonily, "And leave the Soul Society in shame and exile. The Gotei 13 has no need for cowards who refuse to take on the responsibilities asked of them."

"Coward?!" Ikkaku demanded. "I am _not _a coward! Where the fuck were you durin' the war? I was out there on the field bustin' my ass to make sure the guys in my squad didn't get killed! I was out there savin' this shitload of a society from the damn Arrancar! Don't you dare tell me I'm a fuckin' coward!"

"Are you quite finished?" the Head Captain asked. "Yelling is not proving your case. And if our way of life here is so unsatisfactory to you, you may leave. There is nothing keeping you here." He paused. "Most people would be tremendously honored to be given even the mere opportunity to be considered for a Captain's position. The fact that you find it an insult is quite frankly an embarrassment. You were selected for this position because of your skill, commanding capabilities and recommendations from nine of the thirteen Captains, including your own."

"Captain Zaraki…recommended…me?" Ikkaku asked faintly, his eyes growing wide.

"Did I not just say that?"

"But…why?" Ikkaku asked.

"Obviously he feels that you have what it takes to be a Captain," Yamamoto said dryly.

Ikkaku shook his head. "I don't want to have any other position then the one I have," he said. "I've only ever wanted to serve Captain Zaraki, fight and die under him. I don't want to be a Captain; no one was ever supposed to find out about my bankai."

Yamamoto's eyes flashed. "The very fact that you concealed it from the Gotei 13 is insult enough," he said icily. "You should be grateful that we are willing to overlook it. And there is nothing that says you cannot still serve with Zaraki." Ikkaku frowned slightly in confusion. "Your Captain in fact mentioned something to this effect when he nominated you. You are aware that when divisions work on field assignments, they work in pairs. Eleventh has no pair, has never needed a pair. But Zaraki is willing to work with your squad if you accept the nomination."

"He would never do that," Ikkaku scoffed.

"I believe he would," the Head Captain disagreed. "But enough has been said here. You have one month to decide what you want to do. After that time period is up, you will be required to announce your decision."

"Understood, Head Captain," Ikkaku said, lost in thought. He turned around and made as if to leave the room when a messenger flashed in through the window, bending low on one knee to relay his message. Ikkaku paused and looked back at the man.

"Head Captain Yamamoto!" the messenger said. "There is a disturbance at the West Gate! Apparently the body of former Captain Gin Ichimaru has been found there! He is unconscious and badly beaten as well as malnourished!"

Yamamoto stood up imperiously, his reiatsu darkening malevolently. "Have all the other Captains been informed of this?" he asked.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good. Then I am on my way." The messenger then left. Yamamoto turned to Ikkaku, who was standing there, gaping in shock. "Are you coming, Madarame? As a potential Captain, you have every right to be there."

"Uh…yeah, sure," Ikkaku said. The Head Captain nodded just once before using shunpo to move away towards the gate. Ikkaku just stood there for a moment, too shocked to do anything. He was wanted as a Captain…but he'd still get to work with Zaraki…and now Gin was back? What…the fuck…was going on? Today had certainly been an interesting day. And it wasn't even half-way over yet.

* * *

So...not totally a cliffhanger!! You at least know what's bound to happen next chapter!! Tehe, though now you probably all wanna know what the hell's gonna happen next. I don't blame you. I would to. But there has to be some suspense, right?!? So, see y'all next Wednesday (unless I die or something...in that case...well...shux, I don't know, lol)!!

Review? Please? You know you want to!!


	3. Premier Acte : La mort de la Paix

**Warning!!:** This chapter is somewhat angsty - but not on Ichigo or Renji's parts. It's a different character.**  
A/N: **Eh, this chapter is pretty short...but I didn't want to add anything else in there because of what the focus is for this chapter. There wasn't really anything to add. Also, figured I'd go ahead and inform everyone, but there will obviously be multiple pairings in this story. Obviously, it's Renji x Ichigo. If you haven't figured that out yet...I have nothing to say to you, lol. I also think it's pretty obvious that another is Ikkaku x Yumichika (seriously...if there WAS a Bleach canon yaoi pairing, it's them). There are a few others, but I'm not telling what they are just yet!!Though have fun guessing all you want :3

Also always, thanks again for all the reviews, and thanks to my lovely beta, **Kasaki Kihoya**!!

* * *

Ichigo stared down at the body of Gin Ichimaru at the West Gate, Renji by his side. When Rukia had first burst into the red-head's office, giving them the news, he'd been too shocked to form any coherent form of thought. Renji had briefly shouted at Momo to keep everything under control before the two of them shunpo-ed off to the gate, where the rest of the Captains were fast gathering. Sure enough, a bruised and battered body was lying there supine on the ground. The silvery hair was too long, and the smirk was gone. There were bruises mottling the former Captain's arms, face and throat, and a smear of dried, caking blood ran from his temple down to his collarbone. His robes were in tatters.

"Fuck…"Renji said, too stunned to say anything else. Unohana, who had just arrived with a stony look on her face, strode over to the body and knelt down, instantly checking for a pulse. He gulped. "Is…is he still alive?"

"Yes," the Captain of the fourth division responded. "Although…with the extent of these injuries, I am not sure how much longer he will remain that way if something isn't done quickly." She looked up at the other Captains. "Where is the Head Captain?"

"Right here," a cool, imperious voice said. Everyone turned to see the Head Captain striding purposefully towards the body on the ground. He stopped about two feet away from it, looking down with his dark eyes. "Is he alive, Captain Unohana?"

"For the moment," Unohana answered quietly.

"What is his condition?"

"Stable, but that could change if he is left untreated," was the steady, medical reply. "I fear that these bruises, here and here-" she used her long, delicate fingers to point to the spots she was referring to, "-may indicate some internal bleeding and tearing of the muscles. And his breathing is labored in a way that suggests a punctured lung, perhaps because of a broken rib. And then there's this…" she trailed off, letting her hand trail down the blood at the side of his face. "…if he was hit in the head, if could be severe, especially if he was hit at the suture where the temporal and frontal bones connect." She looked up at him questioningly.

"Good god…" a shocked voice said quietly. Everyone turned to see Hitsugaya striding forward, his teal eyes wide with shock; Ukitake and Rangiku were following him. He stopped when he noticed everyone staring at him. "What are you going to do-" He broke off when Rangiku pushed past him, staring down at Gin with a confused expression on her face as she slowly walked towards him. "Matsumoto, what are you doing?" She ignored him. "Matsumoto? Matsumoto!"

"Gin…?" Rangiku asked quietly, apparently too absorbed to hear her Captain's words.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto, listen to your Captain," the Head Captain warned dangerously. But she did not even heed – or hear, as the case very well may have been – the man's instructions. She continued to edge closer to the man, her breathing getting faster and shallower the closer she became.

"Rangiku!" a sharp voice suddenly cried. The blonde woman jerked at that, staring around wildly as if she had just now become aware that she wasn't alone. She looked to the source of the voice. Her eyes settled on a slightly pained looking Shuuhei. "You're worrying your Captain," he continued softly.

She blinked and whirled around to see her Captain staring at her. She let out the breath she'd been holding in. "Oh, Captain, I'm so sorry! I didn't hear you! I would never ignore you-"

"Matsumoto, why don't you go home," Hitsugaya interrupted. His tone suggested that his suggestion wasn't really a suggestion at all. "I think it would be better if you just went home and took the rest of the day off."

"Captain, I-"

"Matsumoto," the short, white-haired Captain said, closing his eyes briefly and taking a deep breath. "Go home, now please. Take the rest of the day off. You look like you need some sleep." His tone was kind – a relatively rare thing for the normally snappish, serious and satirical Captain – but firm, booking no protests.

"Yes, Captain," she said after a moment, finally relenting. Seemingly closing in on herself, she walked away from the scene after a brief look back at Gin's unconscious form. There was pain in her eyes as she turned away a final time and shunpo-ed off. There was silence for a moment after she left.

"I apologize for my lieutenant's behavior, Head Captain," Hitsugaya said quietly after a moment, offering words up to the silence.

"It is only to be expected, considering her previous relationship with Ichimaru," Yamamoto said quietly. "But that is not the matter at hand." He stared down at the form on the ground. "Captain Unohana, take him to your relief station and give him treatment immediately."

"Treatment?" Byakuya Kuchiki repeated. Though his voice was quiet, it caught everyone's attention immediately. That was the kind of presence the head of the Kuchiki house commanded. "I do not mean to protest, Head Captain, but I must say that I sense no need to treat him when the law dictates that he be executed."

"Executed?" Ichigo blurted out, unthinkingly. Renji instantly tensed at his side; whenever Ichigo got into things, they tended to go either very well or very wrong. He had a feeling that this was one of the latter cases.

Byakuya turned his cold, gray eyes to Ichigo. "Kurosaki, surely you have read enough of our way of living to realize that we do not take kindly to traitors," he said coldly. "Or are you still that ignorant?" Ichigo bristled, his eyes snapping down in anger, but Ukitake instantly interjected a mediating statement, to Renji's great relief.

"What Byakuya is trying to say, Ichigo, is that the law dictates that traitors are to be killed if they are captured," the Captain of the thirteenth division said. "The law is absolute and unbreakable – during wartime, as long as no further information can be extracted from a traitor, he is to be executed without question."

"But this ain't wartime!" Ichigo said, shaking his head.

"There are no exceptions," Byakuya said finally, as if that settled the matter. And he probably did think that, Renji thought, arrogant bastard that he was.

"You and your laws," Ichigo muttered, rolling his eyes. "I swear, if it ain't one thing, it's another…"

"Then perhaps you have a better plan?" the Head Captain asked dangerously. Ichigo looked up at Yamamoto in surprise; he obviously hadn't thought that his little remark had been heard. He flushed and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. The Head Captain turned back to Byakuya. "He is to be treated so that he may wake up, and so that we may question him," he said, finally giving an answer to the Captain of the sixth's first question. "This is not his work." He lifted a finger to point briefly at Ichimaru. "In his condition, he could not do this, nor do I think he would drag himself here of all places, where he knows there is no warm welcome for him." He paused. "Captain Unohana, if you will, please."

"Yes, sir," Unohana said, nodding once. She instantly picked Ichimaru up in her arms, the task presenting no difficulty to her with Ichimaru in his current, emaciated state. She walked back through the gate before using shunpo to get to the nearest relief station. After that, the Head Captain retreated to his office. The rest of the Captains slowly walked out of the area, leaving in groups to discuss this recent event. Soon, Renji and Ichigo were the only ones left.

"This ain't good," Renji muttered out of the side of his mouth to Ichigo.

Ichigo frowned up at him. "Why?"

"Tch, almost dead guy falls outta the sky and lands on your doorstep," the red-head snorted, rolling his eyes. "How the hell could it be good?"

"Well, then who do they think did this?"

"I dunno," Renji said. "But they ain't no friend of ours."

"…Hollows?" Ichigo asked, genuinely surprised. Even in his decimated state, Ichimaru should've been able to kill off normal Hollows. He had been a Captain, after all. He wasn't weak. Hell, during the war, his damned Shinso had taught Ichigo that.

"Use your fuckin' brain, Ichigo," Renji said scornfully, scowling down at him. "Ya really think Hollows are smart enough to do this kinda shit? In Hueco Mundo, all them Hollows are concerned about is gettin' stronger and not gettin' eaten. Regular Hollows don't do this."

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot!" Ichigo snapped at him.

"Then don't act stupid!" Renji shot back.

"I'm not actin' stupid!" Ichigo said defensively.

"'Hollows?'" Renji asked mockingly in a falsetto voice. "Come on, Ichigo! You're smarter than that!"

"Gimme a break!" Ichigo said. "On top of everything else going on in my life right now, Gin Ichimaru showin' up almost dead ain't what I need! And I sure as hell don't need you yellin' at me either!"

"I'm not yelling!" Renji roared.

"Yes, you are, idiot," a quiet, disapproving voice said from the side. They both turned in surprise, seeing Rukia standing there with an annoyed expression on her face and her arms crossed over her diminutive chest. "Honestly, you two…how could you be arguing at a time like this?!"

"He started it," Ichigo muttered sullenly.

"I don't give a damn about who started it, I'm ending it!" Rukia said heatedly, smacking them both on the head. They winced and drew away, hands almost simultaneously going up to the now throbbing skin. "This isn't the time to be arguing! Do you have any idea what this is going to do to the Soul Society? Do you?" She paused and let the impact of her words sink in. "You're both being immature and childish about something stupid. Grow up!" She turned around and stalked off, probably to go find someone else to vent to.

Ichigo and Renji both turned hesitantly to each other, sheepish expressions on their faces. They stared for a moment, before letting out breaths they hadn't even been aware of holding. Their faces grew slack, Renji's taking on a look of weariness, Ichigo's resignation.

"Eh, she's probably right," Renji muttered.

"Isn't she always?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the red-head said, nodding glumly. He took a step closer, putting a hand out on Ichigo's arm. "Look, Ichi…sorry 'bout what I said. I didn't mean it. I've just been so stressed lately…and this sure ain't helpin'. And fuck, ya know how –"

"Yeah," Ichigo interjected, smiling lightly. "And hell, I'm sorry for snappin' at you like that. These past few weeks ain't been any less stressful on me, you know." He took a step forward too, so that Renji had to either move or put his arms around Ichigo. And of course he took the second option.

"So…we square now?" Renji asked, pressing his forehead down just slightly to Ichigo's. His hands were clasped together tightly at the small of his lover's back. Ichigo's own hands were resting on his arms lightly.

"Equilateral on all sides," Ichigo agreed, grinning.

Renji snorted. "That's the nerdiest thing I think I've ever heard ya say," he admitted.

"I'm not a nerd," Ichigo said huffily. "You want a nerd, go find Ishida."

"Don't _want _Ishida," Renji muttered, leaning forward so that his lips were just barely brushing Ichigo's. "Want _you._" As he spoke, his lips moved in tantalizing patterns across his lover's mouth.

"Good to know," Ichigo said. "Would've been upset if you had." He pushed his face forward ever so much, finally making their lips connect. It wasn't a particularly hot kiss, a needy kiss. This one was slower, more love than lust. Their lips moved together in a perfectly synchronized motion, transitioning from a gentle pressing of flesh to a dancing of sinuous muscle as their mouths opened for the other to ravage.

Ichigo broke away with a gasp of pleasure when the red-head moved his leg forward to press the growing erection between his legs. He moaned and let his head fall back ever so slightly. "Probably…should get outta the open…don't you think?" he panted out.

"Eh…I'm fine right here," Renji said teasingly, licking his lover's neck. He really didn't mind being an exhibitionist. Ichigo was the prude.

Ichigo groaned against his neck. "C'mon, Ren…" he whispered against the red-head's neck. "I don't wanna do this here."

"Why not?" Renji asked sensuously, reaching down between them and beginning to stroke Ichigo through his shihakusho. "I don't got a problem with it…do you?"

"YES!"

"Why? Ain't nobody here but you an' me," was the sensible response. "Besides, ain't nobody who doesn't already know 'bout us."

"Still," Ichigo persisted, openly flushing now. "I don't want anyone to see."

"And why not?"

"Because…it's private…just you and me, like you said," Ichigo said quietly, his flush deepening as he admitted his true feelings on the matter. "I don't _want _anyone else to see 'cause it's our business, not theirs."

Renji pulled away and stared at his lover. "Is that really how ya feel?" he asked.

Ichigo nodded, obviously embarrassed. Renji chuckled and leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to his mortified lover's forehead. Ichigo glared up at him for the baby treatment he was getting. "If you don't like it, you don't have to get any," he threatened. He moved as if to disentangle himself from the red-head's arms, but Renji caught him before he could turn away.

"C'mon, don't be like that, Ichi," he said. "I was only teasin' ya." He pulled his younger lover closer to him. "Now…let's go somewhere we can finish this." He pushed his hips closer to Ichigo's so the other could feel that he was in exactly the same predicament. Ichigo shuddered at the contact, and nodded.

Together, they shunpo-ed off in the direction of their house – not Renji's, but _theirs. _They shared everything now; it wasn't like they were planning on splitting up anytime soon. They barely made it through the front door before they were attacking each other, pulling off clothes in the midst of hot, wet kisses as they backed into the bedroom.

They both landed on the bed with grunts of impact, but soon got back to each other. Renji flipped them over so that he was on top, leaning down and kissing all over the other's well-defined abdominal muscles. Ichigo was panting heavily now, staring up at Renji lustfully – well, when his eyes weren't rolling back into his skull from the pleasure overload. "We don't got time to go all-out," the younger man reminded him. "Make it…quick."

Renji's only response was to bring their mouths back together harshly, kissing him bruisingly hard, enough to knock all words right out of him. He accompanied the movement by reaching down between their hot, sweaty bodies and grasping Ichigo's member tightly. The younger moaned into the kiss, his lips growing slack for just a moment as his senses were overloaded briefly. "Shit…Renji…!" he managed to get out when the red-head started to stroke him furiously, intent on bringing them to a quick release.

Ichigo let himself get lost in the intense feeling. Renji knew every spot on him, every little thing that he liked, every movement that would just drive him wild, over-the-top. And he was _very _good at it. And what was even better were the little words that the red-head would whisper to him whenever they had sex – sometimes, it was just little dirty phrases, things that only made him burn even hotter. But sometimes…no, sometimes, when it wasn't just sex, when it was making love, he would whisper things so sweet and so tender that it made Ichigo never want to stop.

He was close now…he could feel it. It was getting to the point where it was almost painful to keep this up. Renji was just staring down at him now, seeing the myriad of expressions as they crossed his face – he claimed that that was the best part, and Ichigo had to agree with him. Seeing Renji's face as he came was incredibly sexy. "C'mon, Ichi…" Renji breathed out, his voice tense with strain from his own arousal. "Ya gonna come for me?" Those words…those simple words, uttered in such a seductive, loving and yet lustful voice, made him shudder and find his release instantly, moaning out Renji's name as he did so.

Even though Renji hadn't been doing anything to himself, he had been watching the little show – the very erotic, arousing show. Watching Ichigo come was enough to find his own release. As he collapsed on top of Ichigo, he found himself wondering how he'd gotten so lucky. God, the strawberry could make him come just by the faces he was making. If that wasn't talent, then Renji didn't know what was.

After a few moments of lying there, panting, Renji looked down at Ichigo. The younger man was staring up at him, patiently waiting for him to regain his composure. "That was…nice," the red-head commented lightly. He reached down and gently brushed the slick strands of sweat-drenched orange hair out of the other's eyes. Ichigo leaned into the touch almost subconsciously even as he snorted with amusement.

"Nice?" he repeated. "If that was nice, I wanna see what you call fantastic."

Renji laughed. "Some other time," he promised. "I gotta get back to work, though I gotta say, the interruption was pretty nice." With a slight groan, he pushed himself up and climbed off of his lover, intent on a getting a quick shower before he had to go back to his office. Just as he stood up, Ichigo caught his wrist. The red-head turned around. "Let go, Ichi, I gotta shower. Can't go back to work like this."

"Who said I'm gonna let you go alone?" Ichigo asked mischievously.

"You wanna go back to my office with me?" Renji asked, frowning. "You sick or somethin'?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talkin' about work, dumbass," he said, moving up into a half-way sitting position. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against the skin that was at his direct level – which just happened to be the area that was a finger's width above the red-head's groin.

Renji's breath hitched in response. "I thought ya said this was gonna be quick," he said.

"Eh, changed my mind," Ichigo said, smirking. "Why?" He drug his lips downward teasingly, until they were just short of the other's reawakening member. "Are you…complaining?"

Renji shuddered. "Never," he said, reaching down and pulling Ichigo up roughly. "But…we'll have to make it quick…and ya know what that means."

Ichigo shrugged. "I can do quick," he said diffidently. Smirking at each other, they basically ran to the bathroom, shutting the door definitively behind them.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at her home on the other side of the Seireitei, Rangiku Matsumoto found herself curled up in a ball on her comfortable sofa. Once she'd gotten home, she'd just barely managed to get herself out of her shihakusho and into a more comfortable set of clothes before she'd collapsed onto the couch. Her hair was fanned out all over the cushions and would probably be riddled with static later on, but at the moment, she honestly didn't care.

She didn't want food, she didn't want sake, she didn't want to do anything. All she wanted to do at the moment was lay there and possibly fall asleep. She let her eyes slip closed as she pulled her body even more tightly into herself.

She couldn't believe that she hadn't even heard her Captain until…until Shuuhei had gotten her attention. She hadn't even heard him! Had she been so lost in her obsessive desire to see Gin – alive and not dead, as she'd previously assumed – that she'd tuned everything else out? She'd even ignored a direct command from the Head Captain himself! That alone proved that she had been completely out of it.

But she couldn't help but think about what they were going to do with Gin. In her heart, she knew that he would have to be executed. She didn't want him to die…even though he was a traitor, to both her and the rest of Soul Society. He'd tried to kill her Captain, her friends, and had followed that bastard Aizen blindly until he had been corrupted beyond the point of redemption. He didn't deserve her pity, her friendship. He deserved his fate, after all; he'd chosen which side of the war he wanted to be on, and unfortunately for him, he'd chosen the wrong side.

She clamped her eyes tight against the tears that she felt forming against her the backs of her eyelids. She couldn't be weak; she couldn't give in to the desire to cry. Gin had sealed his fate when he'd first met Aizen, that fateful night over one hundred years ago. She couldn't do anything about it now.

* * *

Shuuhei pulled away from the window slowly. He'd only meant to go and check on Rangiku, to see how she was faring. What he hadn't expected was for her to have completely broken down, lying on the couch and sniffling as she tried to hold back her tears. He wanted to go in and comfort her, but he knew that he couldn't do that anymore. She wasn't ready for anyone to comfort her yet. She needed to have her own time to face her own demons.

And so he turned and walked away, hating himself for it and yet knowing that there was absolutely nothing he could do.

* * *

Eek, I feel so bad for doing that to poor Rangiku!! I know that I'd be a mess if someone who betrayed me like that came back to my town after I'd thought they were dead. I would be like sitting on my bed, staring at the wall, just thinking. And that in itself is a dangerous thing, tehe. This isn't going to be a major angst fest though, I promise. I just have to set everything up, you know.

Lol, okay, so random little conversation today. I was in one of my classes today and this girl in the seat in the row next to mine was talking about how she was seriously homophobic and how everything gay freaked her out. Now, my friend - who sits behind me - is totally into yaoi, just like me. So we just kind of looked at each other and cracked up laughing because it's pretty obvious we have NO problem with homosexual relationships =]. Going off on that subject, I was in my Theology class and we were reading Bible verses, and of course I got assigned the one about how homosexuality was bad. Of course. It was just too funny, I almost couldn't read the words.

Review? Pretty please with sugar on top?


	4. Deuxième Acte : La Révélation de la Nuit

Whoo!! *wipes forehead* You guys are soooo lucky that this wasn't pushed a back a day or two. This weekend was seriously a living hell. Term papers are the ultimate bitch in the universe. Seriously, they suck. I actually have a pretty interesting topic - race relations in the late 19th to mid 20th century - but still. Research sucks, and I hate using footnotes instead of parenthetical citations. Kate Turabian, wherever you are - go crawl in a corner somewhere and die. Stupid Turabian style citations. Ugh. Top that off with the fact that I'm sick and can't eat anything because the stupid dentist sawed my frickin' teeth down, and it's just been a sucky week. Hopefully this makes up for it, lol.

Thanks again to mah beta, **Kasaki Kihoya**!! Seriously, I should give you like a little gold plaque for doing this for me.

Thanks for all the reviews!!

* * *

Ikkaku sighed internally for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. It had been several days since Ichimaru had been found; nothing significant had happened, though the Soul Society had been put on a high alert status, just in case. He and Yumichika still hadn't revealed the nature of their relationship to their friends yet; and he still hadn't talked with Yumichika about what he'd gone to visit the Head Captain for. He knew that his lover was curious about it. But Yumichika also knew that Ikkaku would tell him in time. And Ikkaku would…eventually.

He heard a light sigh from beside him on the bed. "Ikkaku, you're all tense again," a slightly disgruntled Yumichika said quietly. "Would you mind telling me what's on your mind?"

Ikkaku felt a little guilty when he heard that he'd been keeping Yumichika from sleeping because of his own problems. "Eh…sorry," he muttered. "It's just…just what the Head Captain talked to me 'bout a few days ago."

"What did he say?"

"He…" Ikkaku trailed off, reticent to bring up the topic, though he knew that he would have to eventually.

"Yes?" Yumichika prompted. He sighed when Ikkaku still didn't answer. "Ikkaku, I'm not going to bite your head off. Just say something!"

"He wants me to be a Captain, alright?" Ikkaku snapped. Yumichika went very still beside him. "He's given me a month to decide whether I wanna became Captain of the seventh or leave the Seireitei for good."

For a moment, there was a silence. Then –

"_What?!" _Yumichika demanded. "Leave the Seireitei? What are you talking about?"

"Old geezer said somethin' 'bout the Gotei 13 not needin' cowards who wouldn't accept the responsibilities given to them," Ikkaku went on. "He gave me a month to decide before I gotta turn in my zanpaku-to and leave, or become the new Captain."

"…I thought you didn't want to be a Captain."

"I don't!" Ikkaku insisted. "Gods, Yumi, you know that!"

"Then why would you even consider what he's saying?"

Ikkaku turned to look at him, frowning. "If I don't, I have to leave," he said. "I'd have to go back to Rukongai, back to the life we lived before we met the Captain. I don't wanna do that unless I absolutely have to." He paused for a moment. "Plus he said Captain was willin' to work with me on joint assignments."

"_What?!" _Yumichika yelped for the second time that night. "You're saying that Captain Kenpachi Zaraki is willing to work with another squad?"

"Who do you think volunteered me for the position?" Ikkaku growled.

"…that's…quite a compliment, Ikkaku, especially coming from the Captain."

"I know," Ikkaku said, sighing. "But I don't know what to do."

"What do you want to do, Ikkaku?"

"Fuck, Yumi, I don't really wanna do either of 'em," Ikkaku admitted. He unconsciously drew the other closer to him, wrapping his arm around the slim waist of his lover. He buried his head in that dark, silky soft hair; it smelled faintly of something fruity, though he couldn't tell what it was specifically. "I don't wanna be a Captain…but I don't wanna leave you either."

Yumichika turned around in his arms so that they were facing each other. "Ikkaku…you know that if you left, I would leave with you."

"No, you wouldn't," Ikkaku said firmly. "You aren't givin' up everything if I do."

"Ikkaku, I think I can make my decisions-"

"Yumichika," Ikkaku said, in a firmer voice. The smaller man instantly quieted. "I don't want you to give up everything if I…can't take on the fuckin' responsibilities. It wouldn't be like we couldn't see each other."

"Ikkaku…while that's thoughtful of you, you have to realize that I only became a Soul Reaper in the first place because you wanted to," the younger man said. "I have a right to do what I want to do too."

The bald man didn't say anything to that. "What should I do?" he asked instead.

"I don't think I should-"

"I don't give a damn about what you should do!" Ikkaku said, cutting him off. "I just wanna know what you _want _ me to do, Yumi. What you _want_, not what you think I should do." The other man was silent. "Please…just tell me what to do."

"…you know what I want you to do, Ikkaku," Yumichika said quietly. "I want you to do what's best for you. I…I honestly don't know what that is. But…I would much rather have you stay here with me."

Ikkaku gave out another sigh. Somehow, he had known that that was going to be the other man's answer. It was the answer he had expected, but not necessarily the one that he wanted. He wanted Yumichika to tell him to stay, not give him an option. He didn't want any of that "do what's best for you" bullshit. But that was what being in a relationship was all about. You put your significant other first and yourself last. Yumichika was surprisingly good at that, considering his personality.

As the silence fell, he could hear Yumichika's breathing quiet, and then taper off into sleep. He knew that he himself wouldn't have the same easiness going to sleep. Tomorrow. He was going to tell the rest of their friends about their relationship, as he had promised. He owed it to Yumichika; just getting the other man's love was more than he deserved. He still wasn't sure what exactly it was about him that attracted the smaller man.

His arms tightened subconsciously. He had to do what was right for him. If anything, Yumichika was right about that. But he also wasn't willing to lose his lover. And that he knew for damn sure.

* * *

Shuuhei sat down in the little restaurant next to Kira. For some reason, Ikkaka had asked them all to meet here today, wanting to talk to them about something. He wasn't sure exactly why, though he had a few suspicions. After all, he'd seen the bald man heading off to the Head Captain's office the other day. That was either a very good thing or a very bad thing. Currently, Iba was there too, though too busy flirting with one of the waitresses; he had to admit that she wasn't bad looking. But she wasn't stunning or anything.

Renji and Ichigo were there too, but they were too wrapped up in themselves to even notice that Shuuhei had entered the room. As in they were currently making out, being as discreet and quiet as making out could be. That didn't stop an occasional moan from slipping past one of their mouths. He couldn't help but smirk a bit at that; he was happy they were together. They were the kind of couple that only came around once in a lifetime – the kind of thing that made humans believe in true love.

He was a bit jealous, to be perfectly honest. Well, he didn't want Renji or Ichigo. He was just jealous of the kind of relationship they had. He'd had quite a few lovers over the years, a fair bit of one-night stands too. He supposed that he was humans called bisexual; he wasn't attracted to just one particular sex. He was just…attracted to certain people. He had thought that Rangiku had been one of those people, but apparently he was wrong. He didn't see her that way anymore. She was just another one of his friends now.

At that moment, Ikkaku walked into the room, Yumichika closely following him. The two of them took their seats at the table. The serving girl quickly put down several more cups and poured them some tea before scurrying off, winking at Iba as she did so. All attention soon turned to Renji and Ichigo, who still hadn't noticed the new arrivals. Ikkaku frowned at them while Yumichika just smiled fondly.

Finally, getting annoyed, Ikkaku brought up his hand and punched Renji rather hard on the back of the head. The two broke away, Ichigo looking dazed and confused, and supporting a rather sexy light pink flush across his cheeks. Renji looked mad. "What the fuck was that for?" he demanded, leaning forward to glare at the man who'd punched him.

"Oh, _sorry _for interruptin'," Ikkaku said, smirking. "But you two can carry on at your house. Ain't nothin' I wanna see." Ichigo flushed at that while Renji just rolled his eyes and snuck an arm around his younger lover's waist.

"Whatever," Renji said. "So what'd ya call us here for anyways?"

"Well…I wanted to say something," Ikkaku said, losing his confident, arrogant attitude as he stared down at the table. Everyone sent him questioning glances. Even Yumichika was frowning slightly, as if he wasn't sure of what Ikkaku was going to say. "Well, fuck, I'll just say it and get it over with. Me 'n Yumichika-"

"Are lovers and have been for some time now," Iba said quietly, filing in the rest of the sentence quite accurately.

"WHAT?!" Ikkaku said, leaning across the table to stare at the other man. "H-How long have you known?"

"Since…forever," Shuuhei said, speaking up. Ikkaku turned to stare at him. "You're not precisely the best at hiding things, Ikkaku." He couldn't help but smile at the dumbstruck look on the other's face.

"Well," Ikkaku said, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest and merely glaring at the rest of them, some of whom were snickering, all of whom were smirking, smiling or making a face that was a combination of the two. "Now you all know." Since it was out in the open now, he didn't mind pulling Yumichika into his lap somewhat roughly. The younger man just chuckled, but the light, happy smile on the other's face let Ikkaku know that Yumichika was pleased that he'd finally come out and told their friends – even if they'd already known.

"So…how long, exactly have you two been together?" Shuuhei asked, taking a drink of his tea. He hadn't been one hundred percent sure his two friends were together…but he'd had his suspicions. His very strong suspicions. It was nice that it was actually out in the open now.

Ikkaku paused, and blinked. "Well…" he trailed off, thinking hard. "I…I dunno…it's been a long time now."

Yumichika rolled his eyes. "You don't remember?" he asked.

"You do?" Ikkaku asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Yumichika said, sounding astonished that Ikkaku could _not _remember the date.

"Um…when exactly was…that?"

"Since April twenty-fourth, exactly two hundred and forty-seven years ago!" Yumichika said factually, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh," Ikkaku said quietly. He frowned, and then stared up at his smaller lover, clearly astonished. "How'd you remember that?"

"It's not that difficult to remember dates, Ikkaku," Yumichika said; though his posture was still rather stiff, everyone else could see the fond look on his face. Everyone knew that Ikkaku wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but apparently Yumichika was willing to put up with that.

"…sorry," Ikkaku muttered.

"It's alright," Yumichika said. "Just don't do it again."

* * *

Later on that afternoon, after Yumichika had had to drag a rather drunk Ikkaku home and Renji and Ichigo had had to drag each other home, Shuuhei and Kira were left at the restaurant by themselves. Iba had left before all of them, claiming that he'd needed to get back to running the division. Shuuhei and Kira had both known what that entailed – they'd both done it for some time when Aizen, Gin and Tosen had first defected.

Shuuhei sighed easily as he picked up his tea and took another drink. He'd chosen not to switch to sake halfway through the afternoon, as some of his friends had. He had a division to run, after all, and while Renji might be able to just shoulder things off on Momo, he could not. His lieutenant was very new to the job, and had only been on the job for a little less than a year now. He could depend on the girl, but only to a certain extent. Showing up drunk would certainly not be helping the case.

"So, are you heading back too, Shuuhei?" Kira asked softly, breaking the silence.

Shuuhei looked over at him and shook his head. "Nah…not just yet," he said. "I'll give it a few more minutes."

"Oh…alright," Kira said.

The dark-haired man looked up at the softness in his friend's voice. He studied the other man discreetly, wondering what had changed in just the first short days since they'd last spoken. Izuru Kira had always been a rather shy, timid person. But now…he was at least on a normal social level around their friends. He was comfortable around them. But now…he was acting very reserved, as if he were only half-there mentally, thinking hard about something else. Come to think of it, he hadn't really talked much during the afternoon, either.

"Kira, are you okay?"

"W-what?" the blonde man asked, his head rising so that his eyes were staring straight at Shuuhei. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't act as if you don't know what I'm talking about," Shuuhei warned. Kira's carefully composed face dropped a face inches. "I can tell that something's on your mind. So I'm asking you what. You don't have to give me any details if you don't-"

"It's him," Kira said quietly, interrupting Shuuhei. The dark-haired man's mouth shut in surprise. "He's back."

Fuck. Shuuhei didn't need to be told twice about the "he" Kira was referring to; it was obviously Gin Ichimaru. Shuuhei hadn't known all of the details of the relationship between Kira and his former Captain; he hadn't asked and Kira hadn't offered any secrets. What he had known had not been pleasant; there had been some days where Kira would come out with their friends for drinks when his face had been bruised, or his eyes red. Other days there had been a limp. Shuuhei wasn't an idiot; he was an observant person by nature, and he could tell what was happening to his friend.

But he also knew that Kira would've run away had he confronted his friend about the problem. So he'd stayed back and waited until Kira was ready to come to him. And he had…sort of. He'd never really fully opened up, never fully gotten rid of the grief, abuse and terror he'd put up with under Gin. He wanted Kira to open up, just let it spill out. But Kira wasn't willing to do that yet, and until he was, Shuuhei couldn't do anything about it.

"He's not going to do anything to you, Kira," Shuuhei said, choosing his words carefully. "He's in the fourth division, and is being carefully monitored by Isane. He is also under a reiatsu-restricting bracelet. He can't do anything in his current state."

"I keep saying that those exact same things to myself," Kira admitted, chuckling nervously. "But…they aren't really working."

"Izuru," Shuuhei said firmly. The blonde man looked up at him with wide, teal eyes; Shuuhei never, _ever _called him by his first name unless he was being very, very serious and he really wanted Kira to listen to him. "Ichimaru is not going to do anything to you. You don't even have to see him if you want. I promise you – he is not going to hurt you. I won't let him. And neither will Ikkaku or Yumichika, Renji or Ichigo, or Iba or anything one else I can think of."

Kira flushed a bit, looking down at the table. "I know," he said quietly. "But…every time I think of that…somehow, I always trick myself into thinking that something's going to happen, that he's going to break free and come after me." He snorted weakly. "Ridiculous, isn't it? A grown man like me scared that someone's going to come and hurt him?" He shook his head. "I'm weak."

"Don't say that!" Shuuhei said fiercely, grabbing a hold of one of the smaller man's shoulders. Kira looked up at him, surprised. "You are one of the strongest people I know, Izuru! You've managed to run a division for five years by yourself despite only being a lieutenant! At the same time, you were dealing with your own personal issues! You fought your way through a war, even helping to defeat one of the Espada! So don't you dare say that you're weak!" With every one of his points, Shuuhei had shook him, as if he were trying to beat some sense into the other.

Kira looked up at him with a startled expression on his face. "I…" he trailed off, not knowing exactly how to respond to that.

Shuuhei let him go, falling back into the seat and looking down into his lap. "Just…don't go somewhere I can't follow…okay?" he asked quietly. "I lost my Captain too…and it hurts, especially since my Captain was probably considered one of the least likely to ever betray Soul Society. I've lost enough friends in the war. I don't need to lose you too."

"Shuuhei," Kira whispered quietly. "I…I didn't know you felt that way."

"Felt what way?" Shuuhei asked, frowning as he looked up at the other.

"That I was disappearing," Kira replied.

Shuuhei sighed. "Rangiku was enough," he admitted. "I don't want to have you all depressed too because of one man's reappearance."

"How's Rangiku doing, anyways?" Kira asked quietly.

"Not…not great," Shuuhei replied. "I went over to check on her yesterday after the emergency meeting regarding what the Captains were going to tell people about Ichimaru's…arrival." Kira nodded; he'd been at that meeting too, since he was still serving as action Captain and such. "I was going to go inside…but she was curled up on the couch…and not…really in a mood to have any visitors, I don't think."

"Did…did she and Gin ever…" Kira broke off, not knowing how to phrase his question appropriately.

"Were they ever lovers?" Shuuhei asked. Kira flinched slightly, but nodded. "I'm not sure…she never told me. I kind of suspect that that's the case. Why else would his betrayal have affected her like that? She was almost as bad off as you were, remember?" He paused for a moment. "I'm not sure what exactly their relationship was. Actually, the only thing I think she ever told me was that they'd met as kids."

"I wonder…"

"What?"

"…Nothing."

* * *

After pulling herself together, Rangiku had managed to drag herself to the relief station that she knew was currently housing Gin. She knew that she must've looked horrible. Her hair vaguely resembled that of a rat's nest, and there had to be dark circles under her eyes. She had only had to step inside the building when a rather quiet fourth division member had taken her back to Isane, who'd let her inside the room where Gin was currently housed.

That was where she was now, arms crossed over her chest and a slight frown upon her face. His injuries had all been healed, and he was hooked up to several monitors that kept records of all his vital statistics. He was in a very stable condition, and was being constantly watched by either Isane or her Captain. A thin silver bracelet without a visible clasp was around his right wrist. That must be a reiatsu-restricting bracelet. It made sense that they would restrict his powers – he had been at a Captain level previously. And there was no telling what Aizen had done to him during their time in Hueco Mundo.

Her hands tightened on her arms as she thought of what Aizen must've done to Gin to make the man she'd once known follow him so blindly. That bastard had probably tricked Gin into following him doggedly the same way that he'd made Momo completely dependent on him. It was amazing how extensive Aizen's set of manipulative skills were, to be honest. She didn't think she could've found their equal even if she's searched the entire world over.

She'd spoken with her Captain this morning. It had been revealed that no one outside of the Captains, Lieutenants and high-ranking officers were to know of Gin's appearance. Apparently, it was going to be kept as a secret until the date of…the date of his execution was set. She had steeled herself for such a thing. She had known that he was going to be sentenced to die. She didn't like the decision, but she was in no position to contest it. She might be stronger than the majority of Soul Reapers, but she was nothing compared to some of the other lieutenants, and she didn't even compare to people like the Captains and Ichigo.

Now if Ichigo were to protest against the Captains…that threat might constitute something worth fighting over. Ichigo was incredibly powerful, more than any other Captain save perhaps Yamamoto. And even then, his power still hadn't stabilized yet; it was still growing. But she couldn't make Ichigo protest; the only thing that would make Ichigo take on all of Soul Society – again – was if someone he loved was in danger.

Her blue eyes flickered up to the bed when she detected a hint of movement. Gulping, she watched with wide eyes as Gin stretched out a bit, making a noise of discomfort. She wondered absently if he was going to wake up. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw those eyes open – those clear, impossibly bright sea-green eyes – and stare at her for a moment before slipping into his normal squint. She had only ever seen his eyes a number of times – she could have counted them all on one hand. He smiled at her, a smile that reminded her of the same one he'd given her when he'd left her on Sokyoku Hill five years ago.

"Hello…Rangiku."

* * *

He looked down at the two Soul Reapers entwined on the bed below him, having to fight back snickers. Well, who'd have guessed that Ichigo Kurosaki preferred guys' company to girls'? Not only guys it seemed, but that red-haired idiot. The one who thought he was so cool, so tough with his tattoos and his big bankai – yeah, the one that was easier than hell to break. And there was the freakin' kid himself. He was a bit taller than remembered, the hair having been allowed to get a bit longer. But he was still the same Kurosaki.

Sneering, he took the broken sword out of the pocket of his once-pristine white hakama. It wasn't his, of course. As if anyone was strong enough to beat him. It had been that traitor's, Ichimaru's. His stupid Shinso. He'd decided to be nice and had kept the pieces of it for the stupid fucker. He wondered absently what they'd done with him. Had they killed him yet? It would've been a pity if they had – he wanted to see the look on the other's face when he died. He wanted to hear the pathetic noises he would make.

His eyes snapped up as he heard movement on the bed. He'd better get out of here soon if he didn't want to be caught. It wasn't that it would be hard to get out of…he just wasn't ready to reveal himself to the others yet. He wasn't ready for them to find out who was doing this, though he thought they were pretty retarded if they didn't have a guess.

His grin widening to the point of being maniacal, he put down a shred of blue cloth that he'd managed to find in that Rukongai place on a bedside table. He then stabbed the broken sword through the cloth into the table. He was lucky that Ichigo and his little boyfriend where shit drunk. Chuckling darkly to himself, he opened up a hole to Hueco Mundo, stepping inside and looking back at the little present he'd left for the two - a little wake-up gift. He turned around, sticking his hands in his pockets and retreated, letting the rip close behind him.

Through the open window, a breeze blew in and across the bed, to the bedside table. The fabric easily picked up, rippling in the wind and showing itself off for all to see. It had a small detail on it, one that its owner had painted on rather jaggedly in what appeared like blood –

6.

* * *

Okay, so you made it to the end!! Now, I has a very important question for all of your readers out there. I want to pair Rukia off with someone. Problem is...I have NO idea who to put her in a relationship with. Because Renji and Ichigo are the two most common people she's with - and for obvious reasons, that won't be happening, haha. The only other people I've really seen her with are Kaien - who's dead - Ukitake - now that's just kinda weird...so I don't think I'll be doing that, haha - and Byakuya - and that's a little too close to incest for me. So...who do I put her with? So I would appreciate it very very much if you'd tell me who YOU would like to see her with:

**A - **give me a name of who you think she should be with (girl, boy or talking dog, I don't care)

**B - **she doesn't need to be in a relationship

**C - **the infamous "other"/"none of the above" in which case I ask...um, what the hell IS your answer then haha?

Now, since you ALL have opinions because I know you're not mindless robots (hopefully...) please help me out here. I am at a loss. So...then...I suppose if I was REALLY good at hacking or something, I could make the little submit review button blink in bright neon colors, but I'm not, lol. But it's down there at the bottom of the page *hint hint*

Hopefully this chapter answered some plot questions. So for next chapter...can anyone say CoNfRONtATiOn?!?


	5. Troisième Acte : Et la Roue Tourne

**ZOMG, it's been what - almost two weeks?!? I am so sorry, you guys. Really. I've just been having a tough November. Because of course, everyone gives out assignments at the end of November instead of December. Makes sense - NOT!! But anyways, I've finished all my term papers and semester projects and everything else. So now all that's left for this semester is finals. Which honestly, I have no problem with. Tests are my thing. **

**So, again, sorry about the late update. To make up for it, it's an extra long chapter!! Like over 6,000 words!! And there SHOULD still be an update this Wednesday, maybe Thursday. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things again. Hopefully everyone had a good Thanksgiving!! God knows I did. And I'm sure I consumed at least 3,000 calories in that one meal alone. Yikes.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews!!

* * *

**

Ichigo woke up the next morning feeling very much hung over. He groaned. Why on earth had he let Renji talk him into seeing who could chug an entire bottle of sake the fastest? Fuck, weren't they just the epitome of the word dumbass? With his eyes still adjusting to the dim morning light, he stood up and made his way into the kitchen. His fingers much clumsier than they should've been, he started rummaging about – loudly – for the hangover remedy that Renji always managed to get from Rangiku.

Forsaking a glass, he just took a few swigs of the stuff. He wasn't sure what exactly was in it, and he didn't really want to find out. Grimacing at the taste, he forced himself to swallow, shuddering with displeasure. God, the stuff was awful! He could never quite get used to the taste – it was like a blend of seaweed, burnt rubber and glue, with a few spices thrown in for good measure. But it worked, and that was its one redeeming quality. Sure enough, a few minutes later and he was almost as good as new. Sticking the bottle back onto the shelf, he turned around and leaned against the counter.

To his surprise, he saw Renji standing there, awake and not half as hung-over as he should've been, considering the volume of alcohol he'd drunk last night. "Morning," he said quietly, smiling faintly.

Renji's eyes weren't on his face, however. They were a good deal lower than that. He was also smirking. His smile slipping a bit, he looked down to realize that he was completely naked. Flushing – he could only guess what had happened last night to leave him naked and unaware of it – he looked back up at his lover. "Nice view," the red-head said, leering. His eyes flickered back to Ichigo's face – they were shining with mischief.

"And why aren't you naked?" Ichigo asked, pouting.

"I wasn't half as drunk as you were last night," Renji informed him easily. "So I remembered to get dressed this mornin'." He took a few steps forward, putting his arms out to rest on either side of Ichigo, his hands gripping the countertop. "But I don't mind that ya forgot."

"I bet you don't," Ichigo said, smirking himself as he leaned forward to press their lips together soundly. Renji drew closer to him, forcing Ichigo to lean into him or lose his balance. They stayed like that for a few moments, only linked by their hot, searching mouths. When they drew away, it was only for a lack of air. Renji stepped back a bit so that Ichigo could get by him. "I'm gonna go get dressed," the younger informed the Captain.

"Pity," Renji smirked.

Shaking his head, Ichigo walked back into the bedroom. He made his way over to the dresser easily and dragged on a clean shihakusho. He absently ran his fingers through his messy hair to provide some semblance of order, but it was beyond hopeless at this point. He was just about to head back into the kitchen when something caught his eye. He paused and walked over to the nightstand, looking down at it. They didn't normally keep anything on the nightstand other than various odds and ends that had no other place. But…there was something on it now…no, it was _in _it.

Frowning, he leaned a bit closer to whatever it was. He then realized that it was a sword – or at least, part of a sword. He was beginning to have a bad feeling about this. It clearly wasn't Zangetsu, and Renji would never put Zabimaru onto their bedside table. But what other sword could it be? He reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword, giving a sharp tug to get it out of the wood. To his surprise, it was a short sword, maybe a foot in length. It was also in very bad shape – there were chinks missing in the blade and the point was completely shorn off. But there was something else – the sword had been stuck through a piece of cloth.

Moving out into the main room where there was better light, he looked down at the cloth. It wasn't very big, and it was a dusty, dirty shade of deep blue. On one side, it was blank. But on the other side, there was a very crudely drawn gothic-style six. It wasn't drawn in ink, though. Raising it to his nose, his fears were confirmed – it had been drawn in blood. And now that he was in the light…he could see the hilt of the sword. He almost dropped it when he saw what it was – an oval whose two sides never did quite meet.

"What's that?"

Ichigo looked up to see Renji staring at him curiously. Sighing, Ichigo held up the broken sword. "Look familiar to you?" he asked wearily.

Renji took a few steps forward to examine the weapon. It only took a few seconds for things to click in his mind. "Shit!" he proclaimed, grabbing the sword and looking at it more closely. "This…this is-"

"Shinso," Ichigo said, finishing the thought. "Ichimaru's zanpaku-to."

"Where'd ya get this?"

"It was embedded in the bedside table," Ichigo informed him. "And there was something else." Renji's eyes flashed up to his face. "It was embedded through this." He held up the little piece of cloth so that the side with the six on it was facing his lover. Recognition dawned in those reddish-brown eyes and the red-head let out a stream of expletives that would make any sailor wince.

"Grimmjow!"

* * *

Byakuya Kuchiki was a man of order. He liked order; he liked everything to be in its place. Anything that did not have a place did not need to be in his life. That was why he did not like Kurosaki. While that hatred had progressed to something nearing tolerance, it would never completely go away. So when his former lieutenant and Kurosaki showed up at his office that morning brandishing Ichimaru's broken zanpaku-to and the spare piece of cloth, he knew it wasn't going to be a good day.

"Where did you find this?" he asked quietly, staring down at the broken weapon that was now lying on his desk.

"It was embedded in the bedside table," Renji answered easily. "Like someone'd stuck it there."

"And this was beside it?" Byakuya asked, motioning with a finger to the piece of fabric.

"More like the zanpaku-to was stuck through it," Ichigo piped up.

"And you have no idea who put it there?"

"Well…we got an idea," Renji said grimly. He reached out and flipped the cloth over so that the other side was showing – it revealed a large black six, very jagged in style.

Byakuya paused for a moment. "You surmise then that Grimmjow Jaggerjaques, the sixth Espada, took Ichimaru's old broken zanpaku-to and came to your house in order to stick the weapon through _this?_" He sighed.

"Who else do you know that would sign his name as 'six'?" Ichigo demanded roughly.

Byakuya's cool eyes flashed. "I was led to believe that Jaggerjaques was dead," he said icily. "Are you telling me that I was misinformed?"

"Dead?" Renji repeated. "He never died!"

"Then what happened to him?"

"Well…when Ichigo 'n the rest of us went to go rescue Orihime, he ended up fightin' Grimmjow. He won, but then got attacked by Nnoitra. Remember him? Gangly fuck with the freakin' long tongue?" Byakuya gave him a disapproving look; honestly, that kind of language at this early hour of the morning? So distasteful. "Well, he was gonna get rid of Grimmjow until Ichigo saved his life. Apparently the bastard's got a sense of decency because he came back later an' helped Ichigo beat Aizen. But when we were gettin' ready to leave Hueco Mundo after everythin' was said and done, he yelled out that he was still after Ichigo. Guess he's just been bidin' his time."

"Then how do you explain how he was able to get into the Soul Society undetected, into your bedroom, no less?" Byakuya asked. He already had a fairly good idea as to what the answer was, but he wanted to hear the two idiots before him say it.

"Ah, well, about that," Ichigo said, flushing lightly.

"Hehe, ya see, Captain Kuchiki, we were….well," Renji tapered off, trying to come up with a good excuse and finding nothing.

"Let me guess," Byakuya interposed coldly. "You were either too drunk to notice anything, or too tired from your _exertions _to tell right from left." Both men before him flushed scarlet. "Am I correct?"

"…yeah," Renji muttered.

"You two should learn to discipline yourselves," Byakuya chided. Honestly, did no one teach their children decent manners anymore? For heaven's sake.

"Hey, it wasn't like you noticed anything either!" Ichigo pointed out angrily. "I don't remember you runnin' to come and fight him! So don't pin all the blame on me 'n Renji!" The boy's embarrassment was quickly turning into anger.

Byakuya raised one of his dark eyebrows. "I fail to see how any of this is my fault, as you are insinuating," he said. "If what you are saying is correct, then the Espada was in all likelihood only in the Soul Society for a matter of moments. Considering the distance between the Kuchiki estate and your house, it is not impossible that I would not have felt any change in spiritual pressure. Do not presume to be wise about things you know nothing about."

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something else, but Renji wisely put a hand on the other's shoulder, holding him back. The red-head grinned weakly. "Well, we'll just be goin' now. Are you gonna tell Yamamoto, or should we?"

"Unless you wish to find yourselves in even deeper trouble than you are already going to be, I suggest you let someone else tell him," Byakuya said quietly. The two nodded and left his office, shutting the door behind them. As soon as they were gone, he sighed lightly and put his hands to his head. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

Rangiku was currently sitting alone in a small café on the outskirts of the Seireitei. She wasn't drinking – at least, not sake. She wasn't even in a moderately depressing mood. At the moment, she was just thinking. Her visit with Gin yesterday had been rather tame. He'd woken up, said hello, asked where he was, and then promptly fainted again. In a way, it was nice that she hadn't had to immediately go into detailed answers to questions she wasn't ready to answer yet. Things such as "what are they going to do to me?" and "who brought me here?"

She looked up, slightly startled when she saw another cup of tea set down across from her. She blinked. "Rukia?" she asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm on my lunch break," the dark-haired woman said, smiling. She sat down. "You looked a bit lonely over here by yourself, so I thought I'd come keep you company. So, what's on your mind?" She took a sip of her tea and then folded her hands together in an almost business-like fashion, leaning forward subconsciously.

"Nothing much," Rangiku said. "I was just…thinking."

"About Gin?" Rukia asked softly.

"Yeah," the blonde said, nodding. "Guess I'm 'bout as transparent as glass right now, huh?" She snorted to herself. "Ah, how pathetic I've become because of one stupid man." She shook her head sadly.

"Men tend to do that to us," Rukia agreed, smiling.

"Idiots," Rangiku said, grinning a little.

"So what was Gin to you, if you don't mind my asking?" the dark-haired woman asked a few moments later, breaking the comfortable silence.

Rangiku felt her body freeze for a moment; when she recognized it, she forced herself to regain normal movements. "Oh," she said quietly. "Well…it wasn't like we were lovers or anything. Though that's what everyone seems to think. I have no idea why, though!" She frowned, pondering this thought.

"Maybe it's because you were so affected by his betrayal," Rukia said slowly, not wanting to sound accusatory.

"Eh, probably," Rangiku replied, shrugging. "Won't say I wasn't stung by that."

"And you met as children?"

"Yeah," Rangiku said, smiling faintly as she recalled a memory of their first meeting. "In Rukongai. I'd collapsed from hunger because of my spiritual pressure. I didn't know what it meant then. I was just so scared that my body wouldn't react, that it was hungry at all when we were supposed to be in a place where hunger didn't exist. And then Gin came along and handed me some food."

She sighed before continuing her narration. "But he left after that." She paused again. "He always left. He never seemed to stay in one spot for any period of time. That was the worst things about him, I think. I never knew when he was going to leave me."

"It almost sounds like me 'n Renji," Rukia mused. "Only Renji's one of the most loyal people I know."

"Yeah," Rangiku agreed. "I don't think he's so much as looked as anyone else since he caught Ichigo." She couldn't help but smirk a bit at that, a bit of her former vivacity shining through. She frowned when she saw Rukia stiffen slightly though. "What's wrong? Are you…are you not happy about Renji and Ichigo getting together?"

"Oh, no, it's not that!" Rukia said quickly, waving a hand in blatant denial. "I'm happy for them. But…they were the two most important people in my life. They were my best friends. And now they have each other. It's almost like they don't need me anymore." She waited a few moments before continuing. "I know that's not true and I'm just being silly, but still…they _do _spend less time with me than they did before."

"Pssh!" Rangiku said, waving a hand dismissively. "Forget them. You know those two, Rukia – oblivious as ever and complete morons. They probably don't even realize they're doing it! What you need is to find a good girlfriend or two and have some girl time." She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.

Rukia looked over at her skeptically. "Who are you to give me advice like that?" she asked. "You don't have any girl friends."

Rangiku's smug expression instantly fell. She frowned, and thought about it for a moment…and another moment…and another… "Damn," she said. "You're right. Maybe that's why people are always calling me bad names." She shrugged. "I can't help it, really. I just get along better with guys; they're not nearly as bitchy as girls can be."

"I never really hung out with girls either," Rukia admitted. "Other than Orihime, of course. I mean, I grew up with a bunch of guys, so I'm basically a tomboy. I never really got to be a little girl." She shrugged. "Most people tend to think I'm a lesbian, too."

"They do?"

"Yeah," Rukia said, nodding. "I don't know why, though. It's not like I go around chasing other women!" She giggled at what seemed to her to be a ludicrous statement.

"Eh, you just need to get laid," Rangiku said. She couldn't help but laugh when the other woman gaped at her. "What? Seems to solve a helluva lot of my problems. Of course it also creates a few more in the process…" she trailed off, her grin turning into a pout. "Hmm. Maybe that's the root of all my problems. I have too much casual sex."

"Isn't _any _casual sex a bad thing?" Rukia asked, raising her eyebrows.

"…_that's _why you need to get laid, Rukia."

"What??"

"Well, I'll look into it. Maybe one of my friends can hook you up with someone nice."

"I…I really don't think that's necessary, Rangiku," Rukia protested.

"Nonsense!" Rangiku said blithely. "Sex does wonders for your health! Just trust me on this." She winked conspiratorially. "I'm a professional at this. Trust me!" Quick as a flash, she pulled out her spirit communicator and punched in a few rapid numbers. "Hey, you!" she said in a bright voice. Rukia groaned as her head fell forward onto her hands; she toned out the other woman's conversation. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

* * *

Shuuhei knocked quietly on the door to Kira's small house near the third division barracks. They were going to go over some changes in the training regimens for their divisions. Ever since Tousen and Ichimaru had defected with Aizen, the ninth and third divisions had been working together. At first, it had just been because both squads had been left Captain-less. But when he'd been promoted to Captain towards the end of the war, the two divisions had still continued on working together. He'd shrugged it off then, not worrying about it. If something worked out well, why question it?

Frowning, he knocked again. It was unlike his friend to not answer the door. Was he still asleep? But Kira was so punctual…it wasn't like him to sleep in unless he was injured. He gave it a few more moments before he knocked again. There was still no answer. Really starting to get worried now, he opened the door and moved inside. "Kira?" he called out. "Are you here? It's Shuuhei." He closed the door behind him, his eyes moving around warily in case something was really wrong.

He froze when he heard a slight noise. Straining to hear the soft sound, he waited until he heard it again. It sounded like…almost like whimpering. But…what…? Moving quickly, he made his way into the bedroom, where he assumed his friend was. Sure enough, there, lying on the bed was Kira. But he was covered in sweat and writhing around like he was in pain. His face was contorted into an expression that he could only describe as pain. He was having a nightmare.

"Shit, Kira!" Shuuhei said, rushing over and grabbing the thin man's shoulders. "Wake up!" He began to shake the other man frantically, trying to get him out of whatever nightmare he was having. All of a sudden, Kira's eyes flew open, roving around frantically. Not realizing who Shuuhei was, he began to try to get away, clawing at the hands on his shoulders.

"Get off of me!" he cried out angrily, flailing around.

"Kira!" Shuuhei said sharply. "It's me, Shuuhei!" The blonde ceased moving almost immediately, staring up at him, a purely terrified look on his face. "You were having a nightmare."

The blonde man weakly nodded. He fell limp in Shuuhei's grasp; the dark-haired man let him lay back down on the now soaked sheets. "I'm sorry," he murmured quietly. "We were supposed to discuss training this morning, weren't we?"

"Don't worry about it," Shuuhei said quickly. "It's not your fault." He moved to sit down on the edge of the bed by his friend's side, letting his arms fall into his lap.

"It _is _my fault," the blonde insisted. "I should be stronger than this." He absently clenched one of his small hands into a fist. "I just…I just don't know what to do, Shuuhei." He shook his head. "I can't get…I can't get those memories out of my head."

Shuuhei suddenly had the urge to just grab his friend and hug him. He didn't know why. But he'd never felt so strongly before to help a person when they needed comforting. "If you ever need any help…you know I'm here. Don't you…Izuru?"

Kira winced. "Please, don't call me that," he said. "That's what _he _called me."

"Sorry," Shuuhei said quickly. "I didn't mean to-"

"I know," the other interjected. "You'd never try to hurt someone intentionally." He sat up, moving to rub the back of his neck.

A silence fell between them for a moment. Shuuhei wanted to say something else, to tell Kira that he needed to just let everything out. But he was hesitant to do so; his friend was in a rather fragile state of mind. He didn't want to break him. "Kira…" he spoke slowly, his words almost a whisper.

"I know." There was a pause. "I want to tell you, Shuuhei, I really do. But…it's hard for me to relive those memories. I don't want to think about them. I wish they would all go away. But I can't make them go away. I'm not strong enough."

"Then let someone help you!" Shuuhei said, his calm slowly starting to slip away. He leaned in a bit closer. "If you aren't strong enough to do it alone, then let someone bear the burden with you! Do you think it wasn't hard for me when my Captain left? I know how that feels! I don't know what you've been through, Kira, and I don't know the details of what he did to you. But I'm not stupid; I can guess." He sighed. "I want to help you…but it's not up to me. It's up to you."

"I want you to help me," the blonde announced in a very timid voice. "But how does one ask for something like that?"

"You don't have to ask."

Kira nodded slowly. His teal eyes flickered up to Shuuhei's face and then back down to the sheets. And then, he did something that caught the dark-haired man completely off guard. Very, very slowly, he reached up and put his arms around the other man; it was an almost child-like gesture. Shuuhei let his own arms drift around the other's back, drawing him as close as he dared. Further surprising him, Kira turned his head slightly so that his face was turned in against his neck.

"I will tell you," were the soft words whispered against his skin, making the soft flesh break out into goosebumps. "Not…all at once…but I will tell you, Shuuhei…"

Unable to think of a suitable response including words, Shuuhei just nodded. He wasn't going to lose Kira the same way he'd lost Rangiku. He couldn't help but feel a surge of hatred towards Ichimaru. He'd screwed up Kira; he'd hurt Rangiku in a way no one else understood. He'd hurt the two people Shuuhei cared about most. He could forgive something done because of necessity. He could forgive something done out of a need to save something else, for the greater good. But he could not forgive someone who was just plain cruel. And he would never forgive Gin Ichimaru.

* * *

That afternoon, Yumichika found himself sitting along under a tree. It was a really beautiful tree; its pink flowers were perfectly in bloom, the old flower petals falling to the ground as they made way for the new. And their fragrance was exquisite – delicate yet strong, but not too overpowering, speaking of something definitely…beautiful. But he hadn't come to sit under a tree just to admire its beauty, however odd that might have seemed. No, he'd come out here to think.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of Ikkaku being offered a Captaincy position. He knew that he didn't want his lover to end up leaving the Seireitei because of his pride. A man's pride was important, but it wasn't everything. What did it say about a man who was willing to lose everything he had for his pride? Nothing good, he supposed. But he also knew that Ikkaku had no desire to become a Captain. All he'd wanted for so long was just to serve under Captain Zaraki, and to be with Yumichika. Those had been his only two desires.

If Ikkaku were to become the Captain of the seventh division, Yumichika would be left behind, probably moving up to third seat in the eleventh. After all, Iba was already the lieutenant of that division. There was no need for Yumichika there. Of course, the two of them would be still living together, and working together, since Zaraki had agreed to work with the seventh were Ikkaku to accept. That was rather generous, to put it lightly. Of course, Zaraki worked with no one. When he said 'working together' he meant his squad – not him.

He sighed lightly. All things considered, it wasn't his decision. Everything rested with Ikkaku. Only he could ultimately make that decision. And he would do what was best for him – of that, Yumichika was certain. If there was anybody who could read the bald man – and yes, he was bald, no matter how his lover denied it – it was him.

"Oompf!"

Suddenly, he felt his back pressed rather roughly against the bark of the tree, his lips mashed against another pair, a calloused hand the only thing stopping his head from banging painfully into the tree. A few moments later, those lips pulled away to look at him. Completely unsurprised, he saw Ikkaku staring back at him. He frowned slightly, wondering just what he'd done to deserve _this. _He hadn't been kissed like that in years. Like their very lives were on the line.

"Ikkaku?" he said questioningly.

"I'm going away for a few days," the other announced.

"Away?" Yumichika repeated. "Where? Why?"

"Where ain't important," Ikkaku said, shaking his head. "I don't know myself. I…I just need to get away for a few days, do some thinkin'." Yumichika made as if to get up, but Ikkaku kept him pinned down. "I don't want you to come with me, Yumi."

"What?"

"This is something I need to do alone," Ikkaku said. "I can't afford any distractions."

"I'm a distraction?" Yumichika asked, raising his eyebrows.

"A very nice one," Ikkaku said, grinning mischievously. His grin fell. "But I'll be back in a few days, a week tops. Don't worry about it. Captain knows." He leaned in again and kissed his lover harshly, his tongue not even waiting to ask entrance. Yumichika leaned into it, letting the other do as he wanted. They stayed like that for several minutes, neither quite wanting the other to pull back.

When they eventually did part, Yumichika smiled faintly. "Don't do something stupid," he said teasingly. He knew good and well that he didn't need to say anything like "don't get hurt" or "be safe". He knew that Ikkaku was fully capable of taking care of himself.

"Don't make any guarantees," Ikkaku said, smirking a bit as he pushed himself up off the ground. It was then that Yumichika noticed his lover wasn't wearing a shihakusho; he was wearing plainer clothes, clothes made to blend in while outside the Seireitei. He supposed that was relatively smart if he didn't want to attract attention. He nodded once and then set off down the hill, waiting until he got to the bottom before using shunpo to move more quickly.

Yumichika sighed. He wasn't worried about Ikkaku. To be honest, he was more worried about having to find an extra blanket at night since his lover wouldn't be there to keep him warm. He pushed himself up off the ground and dusted off the seat of his pants before heading back to the eleventh division barracks. He supposed he should get back to work. Unlike most of the men in their division, he wasn't completely idle when there wasn't a fight going on. He supposed that was why he got stuck with most of the paperwork.

* * *

It was late that night before Byakuya had a chance to talk with the Head Captain. By now, he was thoroughly tired and ready to go back to the Kuchiki estate for a nice cup of tea and then go to sleep. As it was, he was admitted into the office by the new first division lieutenant. He nodded curtly to the man and then moved in towards Yamamoto, who was sitting behind his desk with his hands folded in front of him. Byakuya bowed politely and then took a few steps closer.

"Captain Kuchiki, I trust that you have a good reason for wishing to speak with me," Yamamoto said quietly. He wasn't any less tired than Byakuya was; the past few days had been rather stressful.

"I assure you this is quite important," Byakuya replied, bringing up the broken zanpaku-to that Kurosaki and his former lieutenant had left with him this morning. He placed the weapon onto the Head Captain's desk. "Captain Abarai and Kurosaki came to my office this morning and said that they had found this stabbed into their bedside table. It appears to be Ichimaru's zanpaku-to."

"And they did not see the culprit behind such an act?"

"They were rather indisposed," Byakuya said distastefully. "They said that this was there as well." He pulled out the piece of cloth and let it fall to the Head Captain's desk. "Their suspicions lie with Grimmjow Jaggerjaques, former sixth Espada."

"Hm," Yamamoto said. He fingered the broken weapon carefully, studying it. "This is indeed Ichimaru's zanpaku-to. And it would only be logical to assume that Jaggerjaques was behind this if this is to be any indication." He nodded to the six, which was beginning to flake off in parts. "But I do not think it wise to make any rash judgments at this point in time."

"I agree, sir."

"I will send a hell butterfly telling Captain Abarai and Kurosaki to meet with me in the morning," Yamamoto said. "Whatever it is this means, I do not think whoever is behind this means us any good will. Of that, I am absolutely sure."

"Do you think that whoever put this in their house is also responsible for depositing Ichimaru near the gate?" Byakuya dared to ask.

"So it would seem."

* * *

"Mmm…Renji…stop it…that tickles," Ichigo muttered, swiping at his nose irritably. And he had been in the middle of a nice dream too. The itching sensation went away for a moment, and then came back. "Renji," he warned, starting to get really irritated now. This wasn't funny anymore. "Quit it!"

"Quit what?" a sleepy voice murmured from beside him. "What th' hell're ya goin' on about now?"

"Quit touchin' my face," Ichigo said.

"Ain't touchin' your face," the red-head retorted.

"Then, what-" Ichigo opened his eyes to see a black hell butterfly perched on the end of his nose, its wings flapping peacefully. He groaned; he'd never been good with getting those things to talk to him.

Renji opened his eyes to see what his lover was groaning about. When he saw the hell butterfly, he grinned and held out a finger. "Tch, still can't these little guys to talk to ya, huh?" he asked teasingly. "Dumbass." He listened to the message and then sent the butterfly back to the first division.

"What'd it say?"

"Head Captain wants to talk to us tomorrow mornin'," Renji said, moving back to huddle into the warmth their entwined bodies created. "Probably 'bout that zanpaku-to an' cloth."

"Probably," Ichigo agreed, reaching up to stroke the other's long, ruby hair. It still never ceased to amaze him how soft it was. It was softer than any girl's hair he'd ever touched.

Renji reached a hand up and swatted at Ichigo's fingers. "Quit that," he said roughly.

"Why?" Ichigo asked, smirking.

"Ya really don't wanna go there," the red-head continued.

"Oh, I think I do." Suddenly, he found himself pinned beneath Renji's larger frame, his arms held down by two larger, more calloused hands. The red-head was straddling his waist, the beginnings of an erection pressing against his sweat pants.

"Do ya really?" the red-head asked teasingly, moving down to nip at Ichigo's throat.

Ichigo groaned and turned his neck for the other to get better access. "Hell yeah," he murmured.

"You asked for it," Renji muttered before moving in to fully attack his mouth. Ichigo couldn't even find the will to fight back this time. Instead, he just let Renji ravish him, tasting around his mouth and twisting his fingers in the short, orange hair. Quickly finding himself panting, Ichigo bucked his hips up into the hips holding him down. Renji inhaled sharply and pulled away. "Gettin' right to it, ain't we?" he asked, smirking.

"C'mon, Ren, don't be an asshole," Ichigo warned, sensing that his lover was in a playful mood tonight.

"Oh, quit whinin'," Renji said, moving to free Ichigo from his own pants. "I wanna try somethin'." Ichigo looked up at him questioningly, but all he got in return was a smirk and a wink.

"What're you d-" Ichigo cut off with a sharp gasp that quickly turned into a moan as he felt Renji's mouth around his cock. It was only for a moment before that warmth was gone, to be replaced by a tongue that was doing completely sinful things. "Fuck…" he breathed out. "Ren…do that again." Renji teased him a bit more before doing as Ichigo wanted him to. They'd never done this before. Oh sure, there were handjobs and they're done numerous things in full-blown sex. But Ichigo had never had a blowjob before. And God, did it feel insanely wonderful.

Renji's mouth was one of the most talented things on this planet, he was sure. He used just the right amount of suction, occasionally using his tongue and teeth for that added sensation. In just a few short moments, Ichigo knew he wasn't going to last much longer. "Ren," he panted, trying to warn the other. "I'm…close." He managed to prop himself up a little bit, expecting to see his lover pulling back. But instead, Renji just looked up at him mischievously and continued, increasing his ministrations to the point that Ichigo could do nothing but moan.

With a cry, he stiffened and found his release, Renji helping to prolong it as much as he could. To Ichigo's surprise, he swallowed all of the milky white fluid, not stopping until Ichigo was completely spent and panting. Renji released him shortly after that, coming back up to kiss him lightly. Ichigo was still unable to doing anything in response, though he flushed slightly when he realized Renji's mouth tasted different.

"That…that was…" Ichigo couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Well, judgin' by the sounds you were makin', it couldn't a been bad," Renji said, smirking.

"Fuck no, it wasn't bad," Ichigo said, finally able to form coherent thoughts again. Renji leaned back to kiss him again, and this time, he was able to respond, albeit a little less fervently than normal. When the red-head shifted, he was reminded that Renji still had a _problem _that he needed taken care of. He broke away, panting. "Quit stalling."

"Impatient little thing, ain't ya?" Renji asked, smirking as he reached over in the bedside table for a tube of lubricant. He didn't hesitate as he covered several of his fingers and then slid them into Ichigo's entrance. Ichigo moaned, pushing back on those fingers as he tried to make them hit that stop he knew was there. Meanwhile, Renji began stroking him firmly, coaxing his member back to hardness.

Once he knew Ichigo was ready, Renji pulled out his fingers and released his grip on Ichigo's cock, using some more of the cool liquid to cover his own erection. Putting the bottle back in the drawer, he grabbed Ichigo's hips and pulled his lover to him. "Ya ready?" he asked, lining himself up. Ichigo nodded, and he pushed inside, going all the way before stopping. Ichigo groaned and wrapped his arms around Renji's shoulders as his legs found their way around the red-head's waist, pushing him in deeper.

They stayed like that for a moment, Renji patiently waiting for Ichigo to get accustomed. "Move." The whispered word was all Renji needed before he began to do just that, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting back in. They set a fast rhythm, both wanting release quickly. Ichigo reached up with his mouth, capturing the other's lips in a rather wet, desperate kiss as Renji reached down between them and began to pump Ichigo's erection.

Only a moment later, Ichigo stiffened and came again the second time that night, Renji's name nothing but a moan on his lips. Renji came just after that, falling down onto his lover's body in exhaustion. They waited until they could catch their breath again before Renji rolled off, pulling himself out of Ichigo and grabbing a spare piece of clothing to wipe themselves off with. Ichigo pulled the sheets back up as Renji grabbed him, pulling their bodies close together. His arm was draped over Ichigo's stomach and his head lay in the crook of the younger man's neck.

"'M tired," Ichigo breathed out, not quite able to hide a yawn.

"Then go to sleep."

"Why'd we do that when we know we gotta get up early tomorrow?"

"Because we're dumbasses," Renji said, snorting. "Horny dumbasses."

"Yeah," Ichigo said, letting his eyes drift shut. "Figured as much."

* * *

**Ah, long chapter. I had fun writing it though. Poor Kira though...I'm totally fucking him up. **

**Anyways, the whole pride thing with Yumichika I totally got from the play The Crucible. I have to say, I completely hated it. Stupid John Proctor, stupid Abigail Williams and stupid, stupid, STUPID people. Seriously, sometimes I hate stories like that. And why the hell would people like Arthur Miller even write stories like that when you know all you're going to get for it is negative attention?? Pride isn't worth dying for. That's my opinion. I don't care if it insults your manliness, Mr. Proctor, but I would've lied and said I'd consorted with the devil before hanging for my stupid pride. **

**Haha, rant over. The next chapter should be up by Wednesday or Thursday!!**

**Review?? Pwease??  
**


	6. Quatrième Acte : Pas Sans le Prix

**Wow. So, first of all, let me apologize for not getting this out faster. Even though I'm basically done with everything for the semester, it's been a long December...and we're only ten days in!! First of all, my grandfather is dying, so all my aunts and uncles and cousins are coming up to, you know, see him one last time. On top of that, it's just a waiting game until my finals. Which gets reeeeeeally boring after a while. But this time, I've gotten things back on schedule and unless something goes drastically wrong, I will keep on schedule.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews, and to my wonderful beta!!

* * *

**

The next morning found Ichigo and Renji sitting in Yamamoto's office, both tired and badly in need of something that contained caffeine. Ichigo found himself wishing at moments like this that Soul Society had coffee. The old geezer hadn't even said anything yet, and they'd been there for at least ten minutes! He looked over at Renji; the red-head was sitting up as straight as he could, but he still looked ready to nod off at any moment. They really were stupid, having sex the night before they had to get up early to speak with the Head Captain.

At that moment, Yamamoto cleared his throat. Both sets of eyes turned to stare at him. "Captain Kuchiki visited me last night," he said quietly. "He brought me these, saying that the two of you had found them in your quarters early yesterday morning." He then brought his hands up from underneath his desk, displaying Ichimaru's zanpaku-to as well as the piece of cloth that had come with it. "Perhaps you could explain to me how exactly you came to discover these."

Renji and Ichigo turned to look at each other for a moment. Ichigo spoke first. "Well, I woke up first," he said slowly. "And went into the kitchen to get…something to drink." He wasn't about to tell the Head Captain that he'd really been searching for Rangiku's hangover remedy. Tch, yeah right. "And then Renji came and joined me. After that, I went back into the bedroom to put on some…fresh clothes." Twisting the truth a little never hurt anything, right? "When I was finished, I just noticed that something was on the bedside table and found them."

"Yeah, we don't normally keep nothin' on that table," Renji piped in.

"And you say it was embedded into the table?" Yamamoto asked.

"Pretty deep, too," Ichigo responded, nodding.

"But you did not notice who put the items there." It wasn't a question.

"No, sir," Renji said quietly, flushing a bit. "We were, ah, sleepin' pretty deeply." Ichigo sent him a look that clearly said 'you did NOT just say that'. But Renji ignored him.

"Captain Kuchiki said that your suspicions lay with the former Espada Grimmjow Jaggerjaques," the Head Captain continued. "I am aware of the fact that you had a particular history with him, Kurosaki. I would know what happened during your sojourn into Hueco Mundo when Orihime Inoue was captured." He folded his hands patiently, as if settling himself in to hear a long story.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably in his seat. How was he supposed to explain to this guy that he really couldn't remember much of that period at all? For all everyone – save Renji – knew, he had regained all his memories. If he told Yamamoto, he'd inevitably have to go in for more testing with Unohana, possibly even Urahara. And he really didn't want to do that. He had enough on his mind at the moment.

"Um, Ichigo don't really like to talk about that, sir," Renji said suddenly, speaking up. Looking over at Ichigo, the younger man could tell that the other had picked up on his reluctance. God, he really appreciated Renji at times like this. "But I can tell ya what happened, if you'll let me."

"By all means."

"Well, Ichigo had finally gotten to see Inoue once we were in Hueco Mundo, but Grimmjow wanted to fight him," the red-head continued. "Ichigo beat him, but just barely. Instead of killin' him, though, he just left him alone. But then the fifth Espada, Nnoitra, showed up an' was about to kill Grimmjow when Ichigo here saved him." Ichigo flushed at that; people never reacted right when they heard that he'd saved an enemy. "Ichigo still didn't beat Nnoitra; that's when Captains Zaraki, Kurotsuchi, Kuchiki and Unohana showed up to help us."

"Are you suggesting that a creature such an Arrancar could develop a conscience?" Yamamoto asked sharply.

Renji shrugged. "I don't really understand it either, sir," he admitted. He glanced at Ichigo before continuing. "Still, it was Grimmjow that helped Ichigo beat Aizen. But as we were leavin', he screamed at us how he wasn't finished with Ichigo."

"That would certainly support the suspicion that he is the one behind these recent events." He paused a moment, and then looked up at Ichigo. "If it is indeed this Espada, are you prepared for the possible consequences?" he asked solemnly.

"Consequences?" Ichigo asked, frowning.

"If he is indeed focused on revenge, as he seems to be, you are his main target," the Head Captain pointed out. "It is highly likely that you will end up being the person who will ultimately have to defeat him."

"Yeah," Ichigo said slowly. "Got it."

* * *

Rukia sighed impatiently. She was currently sitting at a table in a small, romantic restaurant that Rangiku had forced her to go to. And why she was here? Because _that woman _had forced her into going on a date. And who was she being forced into going on a date with? She didn't know yet. The idiot wasn't here. She only hoped that it wasn't someone too terribly embarrassing. She irritably looked at the clock on the wall. He was_ only_ a half an hour late. She was almost ready to leave, to be perfectly honest.

She looked up in interest when the entire room went completely silent. Oh…shit. Standing in the doorway, a coldly infuriated expression on face, was Byakuya Kuchiki, her elder brother. He didn't hesitate in moving fluidly over to her table. He didn't even need to say anything. She just hopped up from her seat and followed him. The waitress who had been serving her just smiled weakly, mumbling a few words that Rukia assumed were something along the lines of "don't worry about the bill".

It wasn't until they had gotten safely out of earshot of anyone else that she finally dared to ask just why he'd called her out like that...er, figuratively speaking, of course. "Um, brother…is something…wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

He barely flicked his eyes over to her before staring at what was straight in front of him. "Wrong?" he repeated. "Nothing is wrong, per say, other than the fact that a member of my family was set up on a date by one Rangiku Matsumoto, whose taste in men happens to be rather poor."

She flushed. "Ah, you heard about that?" she asked, chuckling nervously.

He glanced at her, immediately shutting her up, forestalling any other comments she might've made. "I understand that the man Rangiku was going to set you up with is rather admired for his looks by many of the women in the Seireitei." Her flush increased; it was just so…so incredibly odd to be talking about these things with _Byakuya_, the last person she'd ever think of discussing men with. Hell, she'd go to Ichigo or Renji before she'd go to her brother! Granted, they were both gay…

"But why did you come and get me?" she asked, shaking her head slightly. By now, they were already back to the sixth division headquarters, and were moving steadily into Byakuya's office. She was lucky in that she knew he didn't mind if she came in there to ask him occasional questions. Their relationship sure had improved in the past few years; she supposed she had Ichigo to thank for that.

He stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder at her, blinking in what had to be the closest he'd ever come to confusion. "Would you have preferred it if I had left you there?" he asked.

"No!" she said quickly. "No, no! I didn't mean it that way! I just," she paused to sigh, "I just wasn't expecting you to come there. I wasn't planning on going out on a second date with the guy anyway. The only reason I even agreed to going out with him in the first place was to give Rangiku something to do. She's just been so down lately…" she trailed off, sure she sounded stupid.

Her brother stepped forward, opening the door to his office quietly. "While it is a noble endeavor to attempt to alleviate another's pain, it is not always the best course of action if the only way to achieve such an end is by sacrificing your own happiness," he said suddenly. She raised her head to look at him, but all she saw was the barest edge of his Captain's haori as he stepped into his room, shutting the door behind him. She smiled a little bit at that. Trust her brother to give the best advice.

A smile still on her face, she made her way out of the building before setting off in search of Ichigo. She hadn't seen him in a while, and it had been a while since they actually talked about anything. She snooped around the fifth division for a while to see if he was hanging around Renji, but he wasn't there. Her next stop was their house, to see if he was lying around. But he wasn't there either. Starting to get slightly annoyed, she set off towards the old abandoned practice fields – one of his favorite spots to train away from prying eyes. Because everyone wanted to see the attractive, famous strawberry when he worked out. Apparently, the fact that he was gay and taken didn't deter his many fans.

Sure enough, as she came upon the training ground, she found him down near the ground, working on his kido. She felt a sympathetic urge towards her friend when she realized he hadn't made any progress whatsoever in his training. He was still having trouble with his aim and control over the spells. Suddenly realizing that she was involuntarily suppressing her reiatsu, she let it go so that he could tell that she was there. Almost as soon as she did so, he stiffened and turned around, looking up at her. She gave him a brief wave before gracefully jumping to the ground.

"Hey," she said, smiling at him. She surveyed the damage done to the rocks at the other end of the canyon and smirked. "Training much?"

He rolled his eyes. "Not like it's doing much good," he said sullenly.

"You'll get better," she said, trying to be encouraging. "No one's great at kido when they first start to develop it."

"That's the same thing you said two months ago," he pointed out, moving over to stand beside. Before she could open her mouth up to respond, he was already moving on to another topic. "So, what are you doing here?"

"What, I can't come and talk to you without needing something?" she asked, frowning at him. "I can't just come and talk?"

He blinked. "Talk?" he repeated. "What do you wanna talk about?"

She sat down on the top of a rock at her back, patting the seat next to her. He took the invitation willingly, sticking Zangetsu into the ground with a shove. Then his intense chocolate brown gaze was focused on her. "I never did get to talk to you about how you feel about things," she said, smirking.

"Things?" he repeated. "That's not very specific."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Everything, anything," she said. "Are you excited about getting to become a Captain?"

He snorted. "If I ever get there," he muttered.

"Don't say that!" she snapped. "Of course you'll get there. _I'm _your teacher after all. You just need a little refining. That's all."

"Whatever," he said noncommittally. He sighed. "I don't think I'm really excited about it." He scratched his hair absently, a habit she'd noticed he'd had for a while now. "Though I guess I'm not really opposed to it or anything. Just kinda…indifferent, I suppose."

"Indifferent?" she asked indignantly. He looked up at her in surprise. "How can you be indifferent about being offered a Captain's position?"

"It's not like I asked for it," he said, averting his eyes. She tilted her head at him in slight confusion, inviting him to continue. "People like Byakuya are raised knowin' they're gonna be a Captain one day. People like Renji train their asses off to make sure they get to the top. And then-"

"There are people like you who just show up blazing in a cloud of glory and aren't given an option as to what they want," she finished, smirking at him.

"Blazing in a cloud of glory?" he repeated, almost choking on his laughter. "Sure, if that's what you wanna call it."

"Is it not what you want though?" she asked.

He sighed. "What's the alternative?" he asked, somewhat wearily, she noted. "The only reason they didn't kick me out with the rest of the Vaizards is because I personally killed Aizen and have always rejected that part of me. What would I be if I wasn't a Captain? It's not like they could make me some kind of seated officer when I'm as strong as, if not, stronger than all the Captains." He smirked sardonically. "What else can I do? I don't have to like it."

"Ichigo," she said softly, "don't be like that."

"Like what?" he asked, looking off into the distance.

"It's not like you're not wanted here," she reminded him. "You don't know how many people come and ask me questions about you just because I know the famous Ichigo Kurosaki." He scowled at her when she said that. She couldn't help but cackle a bit. "Everyone here loves you. You're their hero."

"I never said I wanted to be a hero," he said. "All I want is to protect those who are close to me." He looked down at his hands, clenching the bottom of his shihakusho almost angrily. "I'm not a goddamn hero. And I wish people would stop treatin' me like one."

She didn't have anything to say to that. So she tried another topic of conversation after a few minutes' awkward silence had passed. "So how are things going between you and Renji?" she asked brightly. He frowned up at her.

"You really wanna know?"

She blinked. "Okay, no intimate details, but other than that, go right ahead." Of course she knew how two gay guys had sex. That didn't mean she wanted to hear little tiny details about how Ichigo loved having Renji's cock shoved up his ass. No, thank you very much. Keep your dirty little secrets to yourself.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Hueco Mundo, one particular Arrancar found himself wandering around aimlessly, with absolutely nothing to do. "Fuckin' Soul Reapers," he said, kicking at a clump of sand violently. It went sailing through the air briefly before it broke apart, spraying sand everywhere. "How stupid are they? Can't even fuckin' put two an' two together." With a grunt of annoyance, he plopped himself down on the ground near the remnant of what had once been one of the many towers that have comprised Las Noches.

Soon enough, he'd get his revenge. They had to have found the little gift he'd left in Kurosaki's bedroom. He chuckled darkly, remembering the exact position the strawberry and his little lover had been. The Red one. That was the only name he was going to get; he wasn't really concerned with names. Just the thought of the two of them together was enough to have him cracking up in minutes. Still laughing sporadically, he took his zanpaku-to out of its scabbard, looking at it with his huge, trademark grin.

"Just a few more days, Pantera," he said, flicking his tongue over his teeth predatorily. "Just a few more days an' we'll finally get our revenge." He could've just imagined it, but it seemed as if the sword gleamed in response to his words. He looked up at the night landscape of the vast plains of sand. "Soon, we'll leave this shithole, an' be gone for good."

* * *

It was late at night. Rukia had just settled in for the night in her room at the Kuchiki estate, thoroughly excited about going to sleep and not waking up until tomorrow. After she'd finished talking with Ichigo, they'd had another training session. But he'd only continued to get more and more frustrated, which resulted in a pissed off Rukia, which had then amounted to a shouting match between the two of them. They'd both apologized after they'd calmed down a bit, but it was still hard to get over it when you had a fight with one of your best friends.

Closing her eyes, she let herself begin to drift off. It was a quiet night, and the room was just the right temperature – not cold enough to need to burrow down into the blankets, but not hot enough that you had to kick them all off either. It was perfect. She sighed in contentment and rolled onto her side, curling up half-way into a ball. She'd always slept this way – it had been a habit as a child, and she hadn't been able to rid herself of it now.

"Rukia!"

She jerked upright when she heard that fervent whisper in her ear. Wrenching her eyes open, she searched around for the source of the voice, wondering absently why she hadn't felt their reiatsu. She frowned when she saw Rangiku kneeling down on the ground next to her. "Rangiku?" she muttered, putting a hand to her forehead. "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, not quite politely.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk," the blonde woman said, smiling. She sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning into Rukia's face. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" She even sounded concerned. Rukia almost screamed in frustration. The last thing she wanted right now was to talk with a very hyper Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Of course not," Rukia muttered. "How the hell did you even get in here?"

"Nemu."

"Wait, what?" Rukia asked, frowning. Rangiku opened her mouth to answer, but she just shook her head. "I don't even wanna know. Forget I asked." Yawning, she asked, "What did you wanna talk about anyways? It's late."

"Late?" Rangiku asked, blinking. "It's only midnight, Rukia! You seriously go to bed this early every night?"

Rukia glared at her. "Unlike you, Rangiku, I actually do my job and can't just fall asleep in my office while my Captain does the work for me!" she snapped.

"Well, don't you ever do anything?" Rangiku asked. Apparently, the insult just rolled off her.

"Of course I do things," Rukia said, sighing.

"No, no, no, I mean _do _things," Rangiku said, sighing as well.

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific here."

"Well, don't you ever go out?" the blonde asked. "You know, to parties, bars, clubs and just have fun?" Rukia just stared at her rather stupidly. "I take that as a no. But seriously, Rukia, you're so young! You seriously need a boyfriend! Or something like that!"

"What are you implying?" Rukia gritted through her teeth, rather vexed now. This conversation was really getting on her nerves.

"Well, you don't have to like boys," Rangiku said nonchalantly. "There's nothing wrong with liking girls that way." She shrugged. "Of course that would weird and all since we're friends-"

"Friends?"

"Yes…" Rangiku said, staring at her as if she were stupid. "You're my first girl friend!" She smiled happily, in an almost child-like way.

"Yeah," Rukia said, actually cracking a smile. "I guess we are."

"Awesome!" Rukia squealed as a pair of arms suddenly grabbed her around the middle, enveloping her in a very tight hug. She took an involuntary inhale, accidently getting too much of a whiff of the other woman's perfume – something intense, though she couldn't quite place it. The blonde drew back rather abruptly as well, making Rukia fall back onto the sheets with a slight yelp. "In that case, scooch over, sweetie! I need a place to crash tonight!"

Rukia eyed her skeptically. "Why?"

"Weeeeell," Rangiku said, smiling guiltily. "I kinda locked myself outta my house when I went to go shopping a few hours ago. And I really don't feel like breaking into my own house any time soon. Don't worry though, I'll make someone go get them tomorrow! What are twentieth seats for, anyways?" She smiled winningly.

Rukia sighed, but scooted over anyways. Good thing her brother had insisted on getting her a larger bed when she'd moved in here. Otherwise the sleeping arrangements would be a bit awkward. Well, even more so than they kind of were already. She was surprised when Rangiku just pulled off her scarf and shihakusho, revealing a pair of undergarments that could function as pajamas as well. Though on a closer inspection she realized they weren't really that covering either…

Rolling onto her side, she closed her eyes and attempted to ignore the other woman moving around rather annoyingly on the opposite side of the bed. She just prayed to whatever god was listening that the blonde wasn't one of those irritating people who talked in their sleep – or worse, cuddled with anything around them.

"Good night, Rukia!"

Rukia mumbled a good night in the general direction of over her shoulder. Only a few minutes later, she was rewarded with a light, barely there snore. She thanked her lucky stars that Rangiku had an ability to fall asleep in an instant. Otherwise, it would've been a very long night.

* * *

**For those of you who are wondering, no, that scene doesn't mean Rangiku and Rukia are getting together. Me and my friends sleep in the same bed all the time when we go over to someone else's house, but for some reason, some people think it's weird...but, oh well, lol. So, that's that chapter. And I know that this might seem a bit boring right now...but the next chapter will have some definite action!! I promise!!**

**Review?  
**


	7. Cinquième Acte : Briser le Point Crucial

**AH!!!! Oh my god, this is finally updated!!! I think I'm gonna stop saying that the updates are going to be weekly because I obviously cannot work with deadlines. Maybe that's why I'm always up for hours the night before projects are due XD. Anyways, I'll name off my pathetic excuses for why this chapter is so late: **

**1. my grandpa died and so it's been hard trying to handle all the flowers and bread (Seriously, I think I could have opened a Panera in my living room) and helping my grandma deal with it since it's still around the holidays  
2. I got writer's block, the bane of a story's existence - and it SUCKED. So this chapter is still relatively short, but I know where I'm going with things now, so that's good, haha.**  
**3. It was Christmas!!! And I got lots of new toys to play with, haha. I hope everyone had a good Christmas/other holiday!! What'd y'all get?? **

**So, apart from that, that's really all I have to say. Pathetic excuses, I know, I know. And by the way, this chapter has NOT been beta-ed yet. My wonderful beta, Kasaki Kihoya, is editing this, but she thought it would be better to go ahead and update since it's been so long, and I agree with her. So, as soon as she sends me back the edited version, I'll put the changes in here. So, be warned for grammar/spelling mistakes, missing words and possible other mistakes!! I have a fully-developed case of MBGFTMF syndrome (my brain goes faster than my fingers). **

**Thanks again for all the reviews/faves/alerts!! I really do appreciate them!!**

**EDIT (1.5.09) - The edited version of this chapter has been posted!!  
**

**

* * *

**

"I cannot believe you said that to Yamamoto," Ichigo said as soon as he and Renji made it back to the red-head's office. The younger planned on talking with his lover for a while before heading out to train some more. He planted himself firmly in a chair, propping his feet up on the big wooden desk. "Tch. Sleepin' pretty deeply, my ass."

"Hell, what else was I supposed to say? I didn't notice you sayin' anything better! " Renji demanded, sitting down on the opposite side of the desk and glaring at his lover. "That we'd fucked our brains out and couldn't have heard shit? I'd like to keep my position, thank you very much!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "He wouldn't have demoted you," he said. "It's not like there's anyone better to take on the job. Besides," he trailed off, looking away. "I'm not mad. It just kind of made us both look like a couple of dipshits."

"I was included in that," the red-head reminded him. "Ya think I like makin' myself look like a royal ass?"

"You certainly act like it sometimes," Ichigo muttered under his breath.

"What was that?!" Shit, Renji had heard him.

"You heard me," Ichigo replied, opting not to repeat the phrase. If Renji had heard him, then there was no need to repeat it and start a huge argument. He didn't like arguing, especially with someone like Renji. Bickering and playing banter was one thing. With the two of them, a full-blown argument could end up being dangerous.

"And what the hell does that mean?" Renji yelled, getting angrier by the moment at the orange-haired man standing before him.

"Exactly what it sounds like, you moron!" he threw back at the red-head.

"Whaddaya think I am, stupid or something?" Renji demanded. "I'm not!"

"You give off a pretty damn good impression of being an idiot then!" Ichigo retorted heatedly. "And you call me a dumbass!"

"At least I wasn't stupid enough to get myself killed!" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Renji instantly regretted them. He knew that it hadn't been Ichigo's fault that his physical body had died. He knew that if Ichigo had had his way, he'd probably still be back in the world of the living, protecting his family and making sure Karakura Town remained safe. He knew that that was the one thing Ichigo was insecure about while he was here. He couldn't go back. His protection complex made him want to protect his friends that were still alive…but now, he couldn't.

Ichigo just stared at him for a moment. Renji quickly took the time to try and make amends. "Shit, Ichi, I didn't really-"

"Don't call me that," Ichigo snapped angrily. He was furious, absolutely livid. He wasn't going to hit Renji; he was past that stage by now. A few minutes ago, and yes, he probably would've decked his lover. But now…all he wanted to do was get the hell out of there. So he started walking towards the door.

Renji moved to grab the sleeve of his black uniform, but he jerked his arm away, glaring at the red-head. He stepped back a bit in surprise. He'd seen that glare many times…but it had never been directed at him. Sure, they'd had their ups and downs. The certainly hadn't been friends until the War had started. Still, Ichigo had never turned the glare he'd used on Aizen and the Espada to him.

"Don't touch me," the younger man said coldly.

"Ichigo…I really didn't mean it," Renji said quietly. He had never seen Ichigo so angry outside of a battle before. It was unnerving.

"That was low, Renji, and you know it," was the response he got. "And all you can say is that you didn't mean it?" Ichigo shook his head. "If you didn't mean it, then why the fuck did it come out of your mouth? You were obviously thinkin' it."

"C'mon, Ichigo, you know I'm not good with things like this," Renji said, desperate now to make his lover understand that he _really _hadn't meant to say that. It had just…come out. "There ain't a filter between my head and my mouth. You of all people should know that."

"I know you're being an ass," Ichigo said. He moved to leave the room again, and once again, Renji tried to stop him. "Would you quit that?!" the younger man demanded, turning around and pushing the red-head's arm away. "I don't want to be here right now! I don't wanna be around you! I'm trying to leave, goddammit, just let me go!" He waited a minute to see whether or not Renji was going to try and stop him again, but when the red-head just stared at him in silence, he finally took his leave, slamming the door behind him.

Renji could do nothing but just stand there in silence for a moment. Fuck…he'd really screwed up this time. Ichigo was honestly, genuinely mad at him. In all the years the red-head had known the younger man, he'd never once done anything to make the other mad at him. Sure, he enjoyed annoying him. Everyone liked annoying Ichigo; it was fun. But now…he'd really gone too far this time, and he knew it.

He slowly moved back over to his desk and sat down in the chair, leaning back with a sigh. He had no idea how he was going to fix things either. Ichigo had made it pretty clear that he didn't want to be around Renji right now. And when Ichigo in a funk, it could take him a while to get out of it. _Everyone _knew that. Sometimes, it took someone else's help to pull the guy's head out of his ass. But Renji couldn't blame his lover for getting mad like that. He would've done the same thing.

"I'm an idiot," he muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well, we all know that, but what brought on this revelation?" an amused voice asked from the door. Renji's head snapped down in surprise. Rukia was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. Well…he hadn't even sensed her spiritual energy as she'd approached him. God, was he really this screwed up? When he didn't answer her, the smile slipped off her face and she came over to sit down across from him. "Renji, what's wrong?"

"I…" he trailed off, gathering his thoughts before answering. "I…it's nothing, just a…a fight."

"With Ichigo?" she guessed. He nodded, rather glumly. She sighed. "What'd you do now?"

Instead of getting angry at that question, as he normally would have, he just sighed again. "It was just over stupid stuff. And you know how we get sometimes. It just kept gettin' dumber and dumber. And then I told him that at least I wasn't stupid enough to get myself killed." He prepared himself for the assault he was sure was going to come from his petite friend.

A second passed.

Then two seconds. Then –

"Renji, you asshole!" she said, standing up and smacking him. He just let her hit him, knowing he probably deserved it. Besides, even if he hadn't, she probably would've done it anyway – and it wasn't like it hurt. "What the hell?!"

"I didn't mean to!" he protested. "It just – it just came out!"

"Well, you should stop it from coming out!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "That was the worst thing you could've possibly said to him! Are you a complete dunce?" She shook her head, not letting him respond. "No, don't answer that. I already know the answer." She eyed him. "Well, what are you gonna do about it?"

"I dunno," he said, leaning forward over his desk and fiddling with the corner of a piece of paper. "He said he didn't wanna be around me."

"Then give him his space and when he's ready, he'll come back," she said. "That's how Ichigo is. You just have to give him his space, you know. But when he does come back, you'd better apologize, dumbass."

"I know."

* * *

Rangiku found herself staring forward at the wooden door that would take her to see Gin. She'd been avoiding visiting him ever since the time when he'd first woken up. She just didn't think that she could take it. But now…now, she thought she could handle it. And she needed to see him. She needed answers. She needed to know why, how he'd betrayed her and the rest of Soul Society for a twisted bastard like Aizen.

Steeling herself, she pushed open the door and walked inside, showing her lieutenant's badge to the guards near the front before pushing her way into the back hallways, moving at a steady pace. It didn't take long to find him. There weren't many people in this part of the first division's prison. Besides, only traitors of the highest breed were placed directly under the first's watch.

She stopped just outside his cell, looking into it hesitantly. There were two guards standing right outside the door. Through the small hole in the door, she could see that he was sitting down on a small cot, staring at the opposite wall. She pulled away and looked to the Soul Reaper to the right of the door. "I need to visit this man," she said quietly. He looked at her for a moment before nodding and opening the door for her.

As soon as she stepped inside, Gin turned to look at her. His trademark smirk slowly began to grow across his face as he leaned back against the wall. She looked away, stepping further inside so the guards could close the door. She sat down on the small stool on the opposite side of the room from him. It was only then that she let herself look at him. Apart from being a bit thinner than she was used to seeing him, he looked the same as when he'd left. There was a thin silver bracelet around one of his wrists – no doubt from the Technology Depart, to restrict his reiatsu to the point that he was no threat.

"Hello," he said, breaking the silence.

Her eyes moved up to his face. For a minute or two, she couldn't bring herself to speak. And when words finally did spring from her mouth, they weren't the ones she was expecting. "Are you scared?"

His smile faltered a bit before coming back wider than ever. "Scared?" he repeated. "There's nothing to be scared of here. I've already lost the game, Rangiku. Now it's just a matter of playing things out."

"Is this all this to you?" she demanded, her voice shaking slightly. "A game? You're going to die."

"We all die eventually," he said.

"Be serious here!" she snapped, clenching her eyes shut.

"Serious?" he repeated, sounding surprised. "You're the last person I would ever expect to be serious. Other than me, of course."

She looked up at him again. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"You know what," she whispered.

"Oh…that," he said, nodding. "Ya know, I ask myself that sometimes. Why'd I go to Hueco Mundo with him? I really dunno."

"How can you not know?" she asked, frowning. She was quickly growing frustrated.

"Sometimes I think he hypnotized me," he said quietly. "Other times, I think I was just being greedy. Who knows?" His smirk widened. "Either way, I've lost."

"Don't say that!" she said heatedly, standing up and knocking the stool over. "You still have friends here! It's not over until you die."

He tilted his head sideways at her, frowning a bit. "But I'm already dead, Rangiku."

* * *

Ichigo wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up here. As soon as he'd left Renji's office, he'd just started running, letting his feet go where they wanted to go. All he'd wanted to do was go somewhere where there weren't any people or any other kind of distractions. He'd just wanted to be alone. And that was how he'd ended up here – on the top of Sokyoku Hill, lying on his back, staring up at the sky.

He knew that Renji hadn't meant what he'd said. He knew the red-head better than that. Renji was the most impulsive person that he knew. And, like his lover had said, there was no filter. It all came out. Still…he couldn't deny that it hurt a bit when people you loved said things like that. He wasn't one to get upset or cry over things. He just needed to get away from everyone for a while. He just wanted to be alone.

He let his eyes drift shut. The past few days sure had been a whirlwind of events. He wasn't certain of what was going on, and he knew that no one else knew either. Things were just getting tougher for a while. And it didn't help that he wasn't progressing in his training. Sometimes, he wished he wasn't so bluntly powerful, and that he had more diversity. But then again, if he wasn't as powerful as he was, he wouldn't have been able to protect everyone during the War. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

And then of course there was the whole thing with him becoming a Captain. He didn't really want to be a Captain, but he knew that there wasn't anyone else for the position, so he'd take it. He didn't know how good at it he'd be, but at least he wouldn't be a sick fuck like Aizen or a pedantic bastard like Ichimaru. But he wasn't going to be a total hard-ass like Byakuya either. But of course, none of that mattered if he couldn't master kido.

He opened his eyes when he felt a jump of spiritual pressure right beside him. Something was here. Had he been followed? Just as he was about to stand up, he felt a blade pushed against the bare skin of his neck, right against his jugular vein. He stilled immediately, following the blade up to a face.

"Well, well, whadda we have here?"

* * *

**So, once again, I apologize for any mistakes there might be, as well as for the late update. Feel free to berate me if you want, haha. I will hold no grudge because I probably deserve it. **

**Review? Even if it's just to say how mad you were that you had to wait, hehe?  
**


	8. Le Deuxième Mouvement : Combat

**Woo!! I finally got this chapter out!! I'm trying to get better and better at releasing them, but since it's the second semester - and it's always harder than the first, haha - I don't know for certain how often updates will be. At least once a month, probably looking to be about twice. This story will probably be about the same length as Phantasmagoria, maybe a little shorter, maybe a little longer. I haven't really decided yet. **

**Again, this chapter is kind of short, but it's a transition chapter, you know? I have a set a few things up before things can go boom. Anyways, thanks for reading and the reviews!!

* * *

**

Ichigo glared up at the man currently holding the blade against his throat. "What the fuck do you want?" he demanded. He may have sounded confident, but he wasn't stupid – he knew he wasn't in a good position. Sure, he had Zangetsu with him. But that was strapped to his back, and he was lying supine: not a good position to be lying in when you needed access to your weapon. Plus, if he even so much as tried to move, he'd probably have that sword stabbed through his throat. That basically equaled instant, or almost instant, death.

"Hey, what kinda thing is that to say?" the man demanded, leaning down a bit. His grin grew to the point of being maniacal. "Don'cha know how long I've been waitin' to see ya again, Kurosaki?" His voice was growing in pitch and intensity. Obviously, Grimmjow's hold on sanity – if it had ever been there in the first place – had long ago been lost. The man slowly drew down to his knees, though he still kept a fierce grip on his weapon, as he leaned down to whisper something right in Ichigo's ear. "Don'cha know how long I've been wantin' to just rip you apart?"

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped, jerking his head away as much as he could without cutting himself. "What the hell do you want, bastard?"

The blue-haired man blinked and then threw his head back in an insane laugh. "Ain't that obvious, Kurosaki?" he asked when he could speak again. "I want to kill you."

"Then why haven't you done it yet?" Ichigo ground out.

"Ah, where's the fun in that?" Grimmjow asked playfully, standing up again. He kicked Ichigo roughly on the side, making the orange-haired man grunt at the dull pain it caused. "On your feet, dipshit. You're comin' with me."

"What makes you think I'll go anywhere with you?" Ichigo spat out, though he went ahead and got to his feet. The sword stayed pressed against his throat as he moved. In the back of his mind, a voice was screaming, demanding to know what he was doing, and what the _fuck _the Soul Reapers were doing. Hadn't they felt the spiritual pressure?!

"Think?" the man repeated savagely, licking his lips almost unconsciously. "I _know, _ya little brat. You an' me, we're gonna fight." He suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Ichigo by the front of his shihakusho. Ichigo couldn't do anything because of his position. Pushing his face into the younger man's, Grimmjow continued, in a much quieter, much more menacing tone of voice. "An' I'm gonna rip you up in such little tiny pieces that no one's gonna be able to put you back together again."

"Che, you can try," Ichigo said arrogantly. He didn't remember this guy other than what Renji had told him. But he'd beaten him once, right? That meant he could beat him again, especially since he'd gotten stronger since the Winter War.

Grimmjow's hold on him moved to his throat, his fingers tightening as his grin deepened into something that could only be called sadistic. "I know what you're thinkin', ya little fuck," he sneered. "You think that just because you beat me once you can beat me again." He chuckled. "Do ya really think I've spent five years in a fuckin' wasteland doin' absolutely nothin'? Don't flatter yourself. I'm ten times stronger now than I was then."

"Shit!"

Both Ichigo and Grimmjow turned to look at the owner of the voice that had just called out. It was Renji, followed closely behind by Rukia and a few others. They looked as if they wanted to leap forward and help out their comrade and were just barely restraining themselves. "Ichigo," Rukia breathed quietly, a tormented expression on her face.

"Laugh it up, dollface," Grimmjow said murderously, laughing a bit here and there as the hints of his madness showed through. "The kid's comin' with me."

"Like we'd let you do that!" Renji spat at him venomously. "Let go of him – NOW!"

"Or what?" the blue-haired man asked dangerously, pressing the tip of his sword a little harder against Ichigo's skin. The younger man felt the skin tear and a few drops of blood trickle out to run down the side of his neck. "Ya move an' he dies."

Renji looked as if he wanted to march right up there and bash the former Espada's head in, but Rukia held onto his sleeve, holding him back. She whispered something in his ear hastily; Ichigo knew it had to be something along the lines of "don't be stupid". _That's right, Renji, _Ichigo thought, wishing his lover could hear him, _just listen to Rukia. Don't be a dumbass. For once in your life, do the smart thing._

Grimmjow suddenly released the chokehold he had on Ichigo, opening up a Garganta. He nodded his head once towards the black space between worlds. Getting what he meant, Ichigo had no choice but to go along with it and step through the passageway, looking back at his comrades – all of whom had worried expressions on their faces. He couldn't help but feel a little insulted at their lack of faith in him. He wasn't going to die or anything.

"See ya later, Red," Grimmjow said, cackling to himself as the hole in the air began to close. Ichigo tried to project his confidence towards his friends, tried to nonverbally tell them that he wasn't going to die, but it didn't seem as if he was having much luck. All he saw was concern, shock and outright fear. He sighed as the hole shut, engulfing him and his captor in complete darkness.

* * *

Renji was anxious as he waited for the emergency Captain's meeting to start. He didn't want to be here, just standing around as he waited for the lagging Captains to get there; he wanted to be out there, finding a way to Hueco Mundo. He didn't want to listen to what the Head Captain was going to say they should do; he knew what he wanted to do, and that was to get the hell out of there immediately. He was practically forcing himself to stay there. It was one of the harder things he'd done in life.

He lowered his head a bit. He wasn't as worried as much as he was angry. Of course he was worried too, though he would never admit that to his headstrong lover. But his anger was overshadowing everything else at this point. For one thing, he was angry at Grimmjow for coming back and basically forcing Ichigo to come fight him under pain of death. For another, he was angry that he'd done nothing to stop the former Espada. And if that wasn't bad enough, he'd acted like a total ass to Ichigo right before then. He hated himself even more for saying those cruel words to the younger man.

Looking up, he realized that all of the other Captains, as well as Kira, were there, looking around nervously. Only the Head Captain and Captains Kuchiki, Kurotsuchi, Zaraki and Soi Fon looked relatively steady. "It appears that we have a situation on our hands," the Head Captain said solemnly.

"No shit," Renji muttered under his breath. But it appeared as if several others had heard him, because Byakuya sent him a look that could've frozen boiling water. He didn't give an apology though. He was too distracted.

"The question is now, whether we are to go after Kurosaki or if we are to leave him to fend for himself," Yamamoto continued.

"Hell no, we ain't gonna leave him there!" Renji said angrily, stepping forward a bit. "He'll die if we just leave him there with no way to get back!"

"And how are we going to get there?" Soi Fon demanded snappishly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Unless you know a way to get to Hueco Mundo, I suggest you hold your tongue!"

"Get Urahara," Renji continued, ignoring the woman's comment. "He did it once before, he can do it again!"

"That would take some time," Yamamoto contemplated. "The portal he opened for us during the time when Orihime Inoue was kidnapped by Aizen during the Winter War has since been collapsed. It could take up to a month to open one up again."

"Then what the fuck are ya waitin' for?" Renji demanded crossly.

"Watch your language, Abarai," Byakuya said coldly. "You are letting your emotions get the best of you." He turned his attention to the old man at the front of the room. "Is there no other way to open up a portal to Hueco Mundo?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi," the Head Captain started, turning to the very bored looking Captain. "Have you been able to create a stable portal to the Hollow realm?"

"Define stable," the scientist said loosely, blinking.

"Is there any chance it'll collapse?" Zaraki asked, rolling his eyes.

"With any portal like that, there's a chance of collapse," Kurotsuchi explained. "Mine hasn't been as used as much as Urahara's, but it probably has a slightly lesser rate of safety. However, with the technology I've developed, I can open a new portal up almost immediately."

"Then just use that!" Renji said.

"Patience, Captain Abarai," Yamamoto warned, "or you will be removed from this meeting. We know that you are upset at the moment, but Captain Kuchiki is right – you are letting your emotions control you. You still have a job to do – you are a Captain of the Gotei 13. Do not forget that."

Renji crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. He couldn't believe that people were just standing around talking about Ichigo while the man was potentially in very great danger. It wasn't that he thought that Ichigo couldn't take care of himself; he knew that the orange-haired man was in fact much stronger than him. But Hueco Mundo was full of Hollows. If he beat Grimmjow and had to stay there for a long period of time, he could still end up dead.

"He'll be fine, Renji," a quiet voice said from the red-head's left. Leaving the ongoing discussion, Renji looked to Kira, who was staring straight ahead. But the blonde's teal eyes moved to look at him. He smiled faintly. "This is all minor details. You know that."

"Tch, yeah, I know that, but it's still frustratin' that the bastards take so fuckin' to even make the littlest decision," Renji grunted out.

"Just be patient," Kira advised. "They'll decide something in a little bit."

"Hmph. I guess we'll see."

* * *

Ichigo looked around the barren wasteland of Hueco Mundo. It had been a few years since he'd been here last, but it was no less desolate and depressing. To his surprise, Grimmjow had let him go once they'd arrived at the desert. The blue-haired man was currently standing across from him, inspecting his weapon nonchalantly. Ichigo watched him warily, waiting to see if he was going to launch a surprise attack, or something of the sort. But the former Espada looked remarkably indifferent at the moment.

Finally, Ichigo could take it no more. "What the fuck are you doing?" he demanded.

The blue-haired man looked up at him, smirking. "Got a problem?" he asked.

"You brought me here," Ichigo went on. "I thought you wanted to fight." His hand went up to grip the handle of his large zanpaku-to almost involuntarily. He wasn't taking any chances here. "What the hell are you waiting for?"

"Oh, hold your fuckin' horses," Grimmjow said, rolling his eyes. "I got a few questions for ya, first."

"Questions?" Ichigo repeated, blinking.

"Yeah, I ask, you answer," the blue-haired man went on. "I'm in a good mood today, so you can even ask me a few questions!" He barked out a laugh; Ichigo didn't return it. "So, you really fuckin' Red?"

"Shut up," Ichigo snapped, pulling Zangetsu down to hold in front of him.

"Oh, I see," Grimmjow snickered. "_You're _the one bein' fucked, not Red."

"I said shut up!" Ichigo said, louder this time. His voice echoed unnaturally in the empty desert. "Leave Renji out of this!"

"Never figured ya as one for guys," the other man said, shrugging. "Ah, whatever. Don't really care, I guess. Then I guess that takes me to the next question." He paused for a second, and when he spoke again, his voice was surprisingly quiet. "Why the fuck did ya save my life back then?"

Ichigo blinked. How was he supposed to remember that? He only subconsciously remembered this person at all. And now the other expected him to spit out something like that? "I dunno," he said noncommittally. He knew why he _probably _had saved the other's life, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"You dunno?" Grimmjow asked.

"That's what I just said, wasn't it?"

"Tch, brat," the blue-haired man scoffed. "So, whatcha got for me?"

"A question?" Ichigo asked. The other nodded, suddenly finding a piece of the hilt of his sword very interesting. "Alright then. How the hell do I get outta here?" He looked around a little bit, but he saw no portal.

The other man grinned maniacally at him. "Heh, ya don't."

"Then how am I supposed to get back?" Ichigo demanded.

Suddenly, Grimmjow flipped up his sword and swung it down at Ichigo, the latter just getting his zanpaku-to up in time to deflect the blow. "I thought I said that already," he said dangerously, his eyes glinting with insanity. "_Ya don't._"

* * *

Once again, it seemed as if their small group of friends had met up at a bar. Well, minus Ikkaku, since he was currently off god-knew-where. And minus Rangiku, since she wasn't feeling up to going out after talking to Gin the entire afternoon. She'd gained relatively no information, and was beginning to feel quite frustrated with the infuriating man. Shuuhei and Kira were sitting on one side of the table – rather close, an unusually observant Renji noted – Rukia and Renji occupied the other, and Yumichika was sitting on one of the ends.

"This isn't good," Rukia said quietly.

"I have no doubts that Ichigo will be fine," Shuuhei said quietly. He shook his head. "But this isn't good. We were supposed to have wiped out all the Espada years ago."

"Not quite," Renji said. Everyone turned to look at him. "They let Grimmjow go because he helped Ichigo defeat Aizen. I guess they thought he'd just die out there."

"They let Grimmjow go?!" Yumichika asked incredulously. He shook his head a bit. "Wait, what do you mean he helped Ichigo defeat Aizen?"

"Exactly that," Rukia said, taking up the story for Renji when the red-head looked away distantly. "Ichigo saved Grimmjow's life after they battled. Nnoitra was going to kill him even though he was defenseless, so Ichigo saved him. I guess Grimmjow felt like he had to repay a debt to Ichigo – plus I can't say that man was fond of Aizen in the first place – so he helped defeat Aizen. But he still hates Ichigo – even more than he used to since he saved his life."

"Why would Ichigo save an Espada?" Kira asked quietly. Apparently, very few had been aware that Grimmjow had still been alive at all, Renji thought distantly.

"Tch, it's because the idiot can't just stand by and let someone die if they don't have to," Renji said, looking down at his sake. Everyone turned to look at him again. "Hollows aren't like humans – it's easy to exorcise 'em. But the Espada looked human – they weren't animals."

"What would any of us have done in the same situation?" Kira asked, smiling faintly.

"I'm just glad I wasn't in that position," Shuuhei said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Hopefully the bastard won't get himself killed," Renji said, snorting. He sounded apathetic, but everyone else could tell that he was really worried about his lover. Who wouldn't be? They weren't as close to the orange-haired man, and they were still all quite worried. Anyone would be feeling it. "I'm never forgivin' him if he does."

Rukia smiled sadly up at her long-time friend. "That makes two of us then," she murmured.

* * *

**Like I said...it's a transition chapter. Meaning next chapter will probably be twice as long and have much more action in it!! Which I'm sure nobody will protest about, haha. **

**Review if you wish!! They're what fuels my imagimination!!!  
**


	9. Premier Acte: Instinct

**Oh my God, it's been like a month since I last updated. I'm so sorry. And I really have no excuses this time. I really don't. I guess I just got wrapped up in a new story I've started writing, and this one took the back burner even though I started this one first. Ugh, I'm sorry again. Feel free to throw e-chairs at me. I won't mind. On the other hand, at least it's a longer chapter!!**

**Thanks again for all the reviews/faves/alerts!!

* * *

**

It had been a while since Kira had gotten out of the office. He'd been dealing with a lot of paperwork ever since the war, and the fact that a new Captain would soon be instated wasn't lessening the load any. If anything, it was adding to it – it was amazing the mundane things bureaucracies could slip you when new people were added to a division. So he'd decided to take a break, go for a short walk. He was even taking the afternoon off. Well, part of it anyways. More like an hour or two. The paperwork could wait for a while.

Only a day had passed since Ichigo had been abducted by the former Espada Grimmjow. The Seireitei was already in a flurry of activity. There had been several emergency Captain's meetings, but nothing had been decided yet. Renji still wanted to open a portal as soon as possible and jump headfirst into the Hollow realm, while others – more practical and less impulsive Captains – like Byakuya Kuchiki were supporting a more pragmatic approach to the entire situation.

He'd been forced to attend the meetings – and listen to Renji's mumbled rants – even though nothing was ever accomplished. He knew how it was driving his red-haired friend to the point of insanity. It wouldn't be long before Renji just snapped and did something really stupid. And Kira didn't know whether he, Shuuhei, Rukia and Yumichika had the power to stop him. Ikkaku would've been a big help, but he wasn't here at the moment. Rangiku too, but she was dealing with her own problems – in the form of one particular man.

Kira hadn't seen his former Captain since the war. He didn't want to. That was a part of his past that he would give a lot to forget. It had been hard enough to just hear the news that the man was back in the Soul Society. He wasn't sure what he would do if he actually were to see the guy again. He didn't know if he trusted himself to do that just yet.

He looked up, seeing where his feet had carried him. To his surprise, he was in a small public garden. Not many people came here because of its proximity to the twelfth division's research facility. Too many people had come back with tentacles in odd places. He didn't really think he was in danger though – a lieutenant garnered a good deal more respect than a regular Soul Reaper. So he moved to sit down on a bench, not bothering to conceal his presence.

It was a nice day outside. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot. Nor was there an annoying breeze blowing so hard that it tore at your hair. His hair getting long, he noted absently – it would need a trim soon. He sighed. Things had just become so busy lately. He hated it when things got busy. Most people tended to pass him off as a hard worker. He had friends, but he wasn't a partier like Renji or Ikkaku or even Shuhei. They marked him as more reserved, less social and more withdrawn. To an extent, he supposed that was true.

Part of that was just his upbringing. He wasn't like most of his closest friends – he hadn't come from the slums of Rukongai. He'd come from a wealthier family. He had never faced the trials that Rukia and Renji had faced. He'd never traveled around fighting like Ikkaku had. He'd always been…comfortable. And it made him want to scream.

For so long, he'd just wanted to scream and rip at his hair, yell at somebody that he wasn't just a hard worker, that he wasn't just a creature of habit who went to work every day, went home and went to sleep. He didn't want to be _boring. _But that was just it – there wasn't anything interesting about him. Nothing really stood out. He wasn't particularly good looking or intelligent, and he wasn't the most charming or the most friendly. He wasn't much of anything.

Perhaps that was why he'd first fallen for the tricks his former Captain – he still couldn't even bring himself to _think _the man's name – had set. For the first time, someone had said that they'd needed him. Someone had depended on him. Someone had said that they'd wanted him. For someone like him, that was the perfect trap. And he'd fallen for it – fallen for it hard. It was only afterwards that he'd discovered it hadn't been what he'd thought it was. He wasn't needed, he wasn't wanted – he was being toyed with.

That was probably what stung the most. His former Captain had been manipulative, and he'd known that – but the man was so suave, so incredibly charismatic…it was like he'd been capable of doing no wrong. He could talk himself out of anything, get anything he wanted – it scared him sometimes, the power of words. It would've been better had he never met the man. But of course, then he wouldn't be a lieutenant, and he wouldn't have such wonderful friends.

"Well, well, well…I certainly didn't expect to see you here," an amused voice said quietly.

Kira froze; he knew that voice. Had he somehow conjured the man from his thoughts? He looked up slowly to see the smirking face of Gin Ichimaru. He was dressed in a plain white yukata, a silver reiatsu-restricting bracelet around one of his wrists. There were other Soul Reapers about a hundred feet away, ready to spring into action should something happen. He tried to say something, but he found that he couldn't. Another thing about this man – perhaps he wasn't so much charismatic as he was intimidating. There was just something about him that made people want to obey him. The more he thought about it, the more Kira thought it was more out of fear than respect or loyalty.

"Don't worry, I'm not stalking you or anything," the man continued, chuckling darkly. "I was just on my way to have a routine physical examination. But those twelfth division flunkies give me the creeps." He shivered to make his point. "But they won't let me have a nice, fourth division member." He sighed. "They seem to think I'm more suitable to the scientists here. What do you think…Izuru?" He took a few steps closer, so that he was only about a foot away from the blonde.

Kira could feel his eyes go wide, both with surprise and fright. He didn't like this man, he wanted nothing to do with him. His mind was screaming for him to move, to tell him to go away, to do _something, _but it was as if the rest of his body wasn't responding. Another part of his brain – the cool, logical part – told him that he had no reason to fear his former commanding officer. The man was powerless, in a physical sense. But Kira was beyond rational consolation at this point.

He shivered when the other man raised a hand and trailed a finger down his cheek. "Do you think I belong with a bunch of freaky scientists?" he asked. "Do I belong in a specimen jar? Tell me, Izuru…am I a monster?" His smirk had ceased being amused and was now bordering on being malicious. He chuckled at Kira's inability to respond. The one finger suddenly turned into an entire hand. "But you know…if I'm a monster, then you are too."

Kira shook his head, almost involuntarily. No, he wasn't a monster. How could he be a monster? The man before him – he was a monster. Kira hadn't done anything!

"No?" The man chuckled. "But you are. You let me do whatever I wanted to do." He leaned down so their faces were almost level. "You _wanted _me to."

Surprising even himself, Kira jerked away. He stumbled off the bench he'd been sitting on. "Don't you talk to me," he said, his voice hoarse.

Gin pouted a bit. "That's not very friendly," he said, feigning hurt. He took a step forward. "You used to love talking to me. There were times when I couldn't get you to leave me alone, despite the hints. What's changed, Izuru?"

"Don't say my name like you're my friend!" Kira said suddenly. "Just…stay away from me."

"Do you not like me anymore?" Gin asked, tilting his head to the side a bit.

"No," Kira said faintly. "No, I don't."

"Ah, what a pity," Gin said, sighing. He raised a hand up and scratched his head a bit. "I would've thought that I'd taught you better than that. Or do you not remember your lessons?" Kira's eyes widened as the images of what this man had done to him crept into his mind. He tried pushing them back, but they didn't want to be forgotten. They were so vivid, so horrific…they were hard to forget.

Kira knew then that he had to leave. He couldn't keep on talking to this man. It was driving him crazy. He didn't want him in his life, he didn't want to know anything about what was happening to him, and he didn't ever want to see him again. Drawing a deep breath, he steeled himself before saying, "The only thing you ever taught me was how twisted a human's mind can get."

"Twisted?" Gin repeated. "That hurts, Izuru."

"Hurts?" Kira asked, frowning. "Don't talk to me about something hurting!"

"Oh, I seem to have touched a nerve," Gin smirked.

Kira shook his head a bit before turning on his heel and walking as quickly as possible out of the garden. He couldn't match words with an insane man like his former Captain – he was no match for someone of that caliber. In battle, sometimes you had to fight to the death. Other times, you would retreat, regroup and then attack again at a later date. And sometimes, you just had to embrace the noblest and oldest of traditions – run away.

* * *

Ichigo felt his body slammed against the wall of the building. He grunted a bit at the impact, but quickly pulled himself back together. He blocked the next swing of Grimmjow's zanpaku-to, and thrust forwards with his own blade, forcing them away from the building. His shoulder smarted a bit, and there were a myriad of cuts all over his body, but he wasn't too badly wounded just yet. Grimmjow had one, long shallow cut down his left bicep and a few other scratches, but for the most part, he was uninjured as well.

They were at a stalemate, two titans locked in a battle. Each of them had already mastered the other's fighting style, and had made adjustments since their fight had begun. They had to have been fighting for hours now, but neither of them had made any progress whatsoever in hurting the other. Both were breathing heavily, the sheer strength it took to keep fighting for long periods of time slowly wearing down their bodies. No one could last forever, after all.

Ichigo parried quickly, pushing back enough with his weapon that Grimmjow was thrown back a few feet. The blue-haired man grinned at him savagely before snorting and then sheathing his weapon. Confused, Ichigo watched the other warily, waiting for the next attack. "Hmph, put your zanpaku-to away, shithead," Grimmjow grunted out. He stuck his hands in his pockets, looking away contemptuously.

"What the hell are you going on about now?" Ichigo demanded. "We're fighting!"

"Like hell we are," the other retorted. "You're dead on your feet. I ain't fightin' a punchin' bag."

"You're not doing that well yourself!" Ichigo said angrily. "Don't talk as if I'm getting ready to fall over and die!"

"I'm bored," Grimmjow said, ignoring Ichigo's last statement. He turned around and started walking away across the sands, towards a dilapidated building that Ichigo suspected was what remained of Las Noches. "See yas tomorrow, Berry Boy."

"Shut the fuck up!" Ichigo said angrily. "Berry Boy?! Really?! And what the hell are you talkin' about, 'yas'? There's only one of me, you moron!"

The man walking across the sand turned around to look over his shoulder at the orange-haired man with one, cold blue eye. "Don't shit me," he said in a low, cold voice. "You think I've forgotten 'bout him?"

**He means me, King, **an amused voice whispered in Ichigo's mental ear.

_Shut up, _Ichigo retorted. _The last thing I need is you interfering! _

The Hollow laughed. **But if ya don't use me, King, yer gonna die, **it pointed out dryly. **It was me that beat him last time. Or do ya not remember that? **Another high-pitched chuckle met his ears. Ichigo rolled his eyes; even after having lived with an inner Hollow for so long, he'd never get used to that creepy cackle, that whispery voice. **I can hear ya, ya know. An' that ain't very nice. Yer kinda stuck with me. **

_Well, it's not from lack of trying on my part, _Ichigo snorted.

**How rude.**

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered.

"Tch, they say talkin' to yourself's the first sign of insanity," Grimmjow said suddenly.

Ichigo looked up. Had he said that last part out loud? He hadn't meant to. He hated talking to his inner Hollow when there were people around. But he recovered quickly, shooting the blue-haired man a knowing smirk. "Well, you'd be the best judge of insanity, wouldn't you, Grimmjow?"

To his surprise, the Espada shot him one of his trademark, shit-eating grins. "Keep it up, Kurosaki," he said, choking out a laugh. "We'll see who gets his in the end." He crouched down suddenly and then sprung up, using Sonido to flash away.

Blinking, Ichigo sighed lightly. He lowered his sword a bit, though he still had it out. He didn't trust the other man for a minute not to come back and start attacking him again. He looked around, seeing if there was anywhere that might hide him from stray Hollows. There was rubble everywhere, leftovers from the war. Some were half-buried in sand and tilted over, providing shelter of some sort. He didn't want to go to Las Noches; he suspected that that was where Grimmjow had gone, and the blue-haired man was one of the last people that he wanted to see right now.

He started walking across the white sand, still keeping an eye out for enemies. The first piece of rubble he came started crumbling when he just laid a hand on it. Figuring that was about as safe as falling on a sword, he moved on. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Hollow appeared, aiming to crush him with its fist. Dodging the initial attack, he swung at it and cleaved it in two easily with Zangetsu. Watching as it dematerialized, a bad feeling started to grow in his gut. This wasn't good.

Another cry sounded out from behind him. Pivoting, he cut the newest intruder down. He could see more of them coming towards him. _What the hell?! _He thought inwardly as he hacked another one down. They were just small fry, not even a Gillian-class Menos. But still – even if they were just the smallest, easiest to kill variety, enough of them could kill the strongest person.

**They're drawn to yer reiatsu, dumbass, **Shirosaki informed him wryly. **Ya gotta pull it in before ya get yerself killed. **

"How?!" Ichigo demanded, too busy to bother with just thinking the thought.

**God, King, yer so pathetic! **the Hollow yelled at him angrily. **Are ya just gonna roll over an' die?! I don't wanna die here! It ain't hard!**

"You know I've never been able to control my reiatsu before!" Ichigo retorted. "What, do you expect me to just suddenly be able to do it?"

**It's either that or die, ya fuck-up! **

"I know that!" Ichigo yelled back, frustrated now. He'd always hated the fact that he was basically one big homing device for Hollows, especially when he'd just started learning what Soul Reapers were. It hadn't helped that his powers had only gotten stronger as he'd gotten older. He'd never had the finesse to control it when he was younger. He was brute force, not refined skill. It was like trying to dam an ocean.

**Then what the hell are ya waitin' for?!?! **

"SHUT – UP!" Ichigo ground out, his temper rising. In his anger, he released a Getsuga Tensho on a group of Hollows, evenly slicing them in half. As if he needed anyone egging him on! But as much as he hated to admit it, the Hollow was right. He needed to save his energy for when Grimmjow attacked again. He couldn't be wasting it on these small fry.

Looking inside himself, he tried to find the source of his spiritual energy, using much the same process as he used whenever he performed bankai or tried to find spirit ribbons. The Hollows stepped back, looking at him curiously, as if they weren't sure whether or not he was worth eating after all. He wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to be doing. How did one hide their reiatsu? Was it suppressing, or was it more like concealing? He opted for concealing, figuring that with his power, that was probably the easier of the two. But how did you conceal spiritual pressure?

Concealing was like hiding, right? That was the basis of his entire procedure. He tried to draw all of the power in on himself, so that it wasn't pouring out like normal. His skin felt strange – it was…almost tight, as if it was being stretched to the brink. Gritting his teeth in determination, he put up with the slightly painful sensation until, all of a sudden, he felt strangely numb. He heard Shirosaki crow in his mind.

Before the Hollows knew what had hit them, he'd quickly cut down the nearest ones, slicing through them cleanly and evenly. A few of them ran. After all of the ones who hadn't were dead, he fell back to the ground, panting. Letting his zanpaku-to revert to its shikai state, he put it on his back. There was a red column lying sideways on the sand a few hundred feet away. There was a chunk missing from its side that would provide temporary shelter.

Heading towards the column, he heard Shirosaki chuckle. **If that was all it took to get ya to suppress yer reiatsu, ya shoulda done this a long time ago, King, **he said.

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered. "It wasn't easy." And it hadn't been. To be honest, he still felt odd. It was as if a part of him was missing. It was a strange feeling, and it took some energy to keep it contained. Reaching the makeshift cave, he sat down and leaned back against the side. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. Too bad there wasn't a bed nearby.

**Tch, ya know if there was a bed nearby, sleepin' would be the last thing on yer mind, **the Hollow said, making a rather crude joke.

Ichigo flushed. "Shut up," he repeated. He let his eyes drift shut and laid his head back against the smooth stone. "Can you keep watch?" he asked.

There was a sigh. **I s'ppose. Can't let ya die, now, can I? **

Ichigo felt a small grin creep onto his face. "Nope," he said. "'Cause then, you die."

**Damn. **

* * *

"Captain Hisagi!"

Shuuhei looked up as he heard his name called out. A Soul Reaper – one he recognized from Kira's division – was running towards him, a frightened look on her face. He stopped walking, turning to face the woman as she headed towards him. When she reached him, she put her hands on her knees, panting. "What is it?" he asked. Did Kira need something?

"It's…it's Lieutenant Kira," she breathed out.

"What's wrong?" Shuuhei asked, starting to get a little worried. Something didn't seem right.

"He…he went for a walk…about an hour ago," she said, rising back up to her full height. Her breathing was only slightly labored now. "When he came back…he looked terrified." She swallowed. "He just gathered up his things and left."

"Do you know where he went for a walk?" Shuuhei asked, somewhat puzzled. That didn't sound like his friend. Kira was very work-oriented. He wouldn't leave unless there was something seriously bothering him.

She shook her head. "I saw him walk off in the direction of the twelfth, though," she said.

He blinked. The twelfth? There were a few public areas in that general direction, almost none of them used because of its proximity to Mayuri's laboratories. That was probably why Kira had gone there in the first place – he'd wanted to go somewhere private. But what would have made him so upset…? His eyes widened when it hit him – they'd been taking Ichimaru to the twelfth division for some tests to be run. "Shit," he said hoarsely. Running a hand through his hair, he turned back to the Soul Reaper. "He went home, you said?" She nodded. "I've got to go. Don't worry, I'll make sure he's fine."

Not waiting to see if the woman responded to him, he set off towards Kira's house, going as fast as his shunpo would take him. When he got there, he tried the door only to find that it was locked. Not willing to be deterred, he gave it a few good kicks and down it come. Rushing into the building, he immediately went to the bedroom. There was no light in the room, and there was no one on the bed. "Kira?" he called out. He couldn't even sense the other's reiatsu.

He spun around when he felt someone latch onto him from behind. To his surprise, it was Kira – a shivering, trembling mess of Kira, anyways. The dark-haired man steered them over to a low couch, sitting the two of them down. He let Kira hang on to him; the blonde was shaking violently now. "Kira," he murmured, "what's wrong?"

"I…he found me," Kira breathed out. Even his voice was shaking. "A-and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even move! And…and he touched me." He shook his head. "H-he called my na-" Suddenly, he got up and ran into the bathroom. A few moments later and Shuuhei could hear him retching into the toilet. He waited until the sounds were done before he made his way into the bathroom, leaning over to rub soothing circles on the other's back.

He reached up to flush the toilet and then leaned over to get a cup of water from the sink. He handed it to Kira, who gratefully took it, rinsing his mouth out. "I'm sorry," the blonde murmured. "I…I hate being so weak like this. I just don't know why he affects me so much."

"Kira," Shuuhei said, helping his friend up and leading him back into the bedroom. "That man did horrible things to you. Anyone would be affected by him, had he done the same to them. It's a natural response." He sat down on the couch again, Kira following him. He turned so that he was half-facing the blonde.

Kira chuckled weakly. "I'm so pathetic," he murmured. "I couldn't even think of something to say to him. I was just so…paralyzed." He shook his head. "But it's always been that way."

"What are you talking about?" Shuuhei asked, frowning.

"I've always been the weakest one out of all our friends," Kira replied. "Renji, Ikkaku, you, Ichigo…you're all so strong. And Rangiku's dealing with this the best that she can. Even Yumichika knows how to handle his own emotions. But I'm…I just have to see him once and I'm a mess."

Shuuhei grabbed Kira's arm then, forcing his friend to look him in the eye. He leaned closer, looking into those startled teal eyes. "You're not weak," he said firmly. "You may be the most sensitive, but you're not weak. Who ran this division when he left? You. Who helped protect all his friends in the Winter War? You. Who's always been able to keep the peace between us? You." He shook his head. "Give yourself some credit, Kira. You're not as weak as you seem to think you are."

"Then why can't I respond to anything he says to me?" Kira demanded. "Why can't I make myself fight back?"

"Because we're taught to only fight when we have to," Shuuhei said. "We're taught that peace is better than violence. He was your Captain. What were you supposed to do? You let him do that to you. But that's in the past! He's not your Captain anymore. You don't have to listen to him."

"But that's just it, Shuuhei!" Kira cried out. "I let him do that to me! I could've said no, I should've said no! But I didn't. I let him violate me to the point that his very name affects me. I just want to forget everything that happened!" He shook his head. "But I can't."

"Why not?"

"Every time I close my eyes at night, I can see him, feel him," Kira breathed out, shaking once again. "I don't want to go through that. I want to forget, but I don't know how! There's nothing to cover up the bad thoughts!"

"Then someone needs to make you forget."

"What-?"

He was cut off when Shuuhei pressed their faces together, closing the gap between them. Kira's eyes widened considerably, though the darker-haired man couldn't see it for his closed eyes. At first, Shuuhei felt almost no response from his friend, and his heart began to sink when he realized that he might've just made a very large mistake. But just as he was about to pull away, he felt a tentative push against his lips. He slowly let his arms drift down to grasp Kira's hips lightly, and he hummed in appreciation when the other timidly moved his hands up to grasp his biceps.

Kira leaned into the kiss, allowing the sensations to overwhelm him as Shuuhei licked at his bottom lip, asking for entrance. He let his mouth slip open a little, and gasped in surprise when the other's tongue plunged into his mouth, demanding and aggressive, but somehow not rough and stealing. He moaned when that same tongue started rubbing against his own, twining around it sinuously. But then, it was over, too quickly, too fast. His eyes – ones he hadn't even been aware of closing – slipped open when the other pulled away.

"Do you want this?" Shuuhei asked. Kira blinked at him, his mind still reeling from that kiss. It had been so different from the kisses Gin – he forced himself to think the name – had given him. Those had been rough and demanding, more teeth than tongue, with a dominating side that always left him bleeding. Shuuhei was without a doubt the best kisser he'd ever met. He was so natural, so erotic and so naturally loving that it took his breath away – literally. He pulled his thoughts back together when he heard Shuuhei talking. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

"No," Kira said quickly, pushing himself closer to his friend. "Make me forget it." He shook his head. "I'm not strong enough to do it on my own. I wish I was…but I'm not."

Shuuhei shook his head. "Do you want it?" he repeated. "That's what I want to know."

Kira swallowed nervously. "I want it," he said quietly after only a moment's contemplation. If there was anyone who could help him, it was Shuuhei, he thought. "But if you don't want it…"

He felt Shuuhei's arms tighten around him painfully. "Don't even think for a minute that I'm just doing this for you," he said. "I'm not that selfless. I want to help you, of course. But I also want _you." _He whispered the last bit in Kira's ear. He felt the blonde shudder against him and couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"M-me too," Kira admitted, his words almost swallowed up by the pair of lips descending back on his.

* * *

Rangiku almost kicked down the cell door to Gin's cell, she was so furious. As it was, she could barely wait for the guards to open the door before she stormed inside, her fists clenched at her sides. The cellmate looked up as she entered the room, blinking in surprise. She wasted no time in slamming the door shut – though with what she had to say she had no doubts that the guards outside would still hear every word – before she walked over and slapped him as hard as she could across the face.

"How could you?!" she screamed at him. "How could you do something like that?!"

"What are you talking a-"

"Don't play stupid with me!" she snapped, cutting him off. "I'm tired of people pretending to be so ignorant! You know exactly what I'm talking about! How the hell could you do something like that?!"

"It wasn't like he resisted," he said, shrugging.

"You almost broke him," she accused. "And that's all you have to say?!" She'd heard the whole story from Shuuhei earlier by chance after a meeting. She'd merely inquired as to why Kira was absent, and she'd gotten the whole story. She was surprisingly happy that Kira and Shuuhei were together now, but she had found herself absolutely furious at the man sitting across from her. "What's the matter with you?!"

"Absolutely nothing," he replied.

"You really are a monster," she said, shaking her head. "I've tried to help you out of here, Gin. I'm doing my best to defend you…but I can't do that anymore." She was so furious that there were tears burning in her eyes. "You're going somewhere that I can't go. You aren't the man I knew."

"Then what happened to him?" he asked quietly.

"He's dead," she spat.

"Dead?" he repeated. "I still feel very much alive." He paused before continuing. "Did you ever consider the fact that perhaps you were the one being deceived all along? Perhaps I haven't changed at all."

"I don't believe that," she said, shaking her head. "You have changed."

He smirked. "I don't think so," he said.

She shook her head bitterly. "What happened to you?" she whispered painfully. "You were like a brother to me, Gin. I would've done anything for you. I would've died for you!" She had to take a moment to compose herself, lest the tears take over. "But you're not that man anymore. You're nothing but a monster now."

* * *

**Ugh, once again I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Hopefully it wasn't too terrible. And by the way, I have absolutely nothing against Gin. He's actually one of my favorite characters. And neither do I have anything against Kira. It just turned out that Kira had to be angstfest worthy in this particular chapter.  
**

**Don't forget to review!!  
**


End file.
